Because I Asked You To Stay
by Sulhadahne
Summary: A woman from our world is thrown into Gaia, and mourns the loss of her loved ones. AVALANCHE decides to help her find her way back... but will she want to leave? And what does Chaos have to do with it? VincentOC ReeveTifa CidCloud ChaosOC ABANDONED
1. Stolen

Because I Asked You To Stay

(A Dream of a Dream)

I was staring at him from across the tavern.

All I could do was stare. Heh, what a brave woman I was. There was the man of my dreams, the legendary Cid Highwind, and all I could do... was stare.

With a sigh I turned back to the bar. "Fill er up, barkeep." I mumbled.

Tifa looked down at me with empathy. She knew about my feelings, without me having to tell her. She had experienced quite a few pains from love as well. Her feelings for Cloud had always been unrequited. If I hadn't been so busy feeling sorry for myself, I might've pitied her.

"This'll be your fourth tonight. I thought you didn't drink?" she asked with a smile. Tifa took my mug anyway.

I shrugged. "Better than just wasting away out there... I just don't know what to do with myself." Her eyes darkened and Tifa sighed. I didn't want to hurt her, but it was true. Since I'd been somehow taken forcefully from my home planet, and sent to a whole new world, my life had taken a darker turn.

In fan fictions and stories, going into the realm of your favorite book or video game was always a good thing. What people don't think of is the loneliness, the suffering, the loss. Not being able to see your friends or family, not being able to return home. God, how I missed home.

Worst of all was knowing that your heroes, your idols, where out there somewhere, and you knew them, but they didn't know you. What were you supposed to do? Walk up and say, "Hello, I'm from a different universe where you all are video game characters. Nice to meet you."

It had been the summer of my thirty second year. My friends and I had been on a trip together, traveling through Vietnam. We had saved up for a long time to make it, to visit the family of one of our friends. I remembered sitting outside, picking ticks off the family dog, when I suddenly felt light headed. Then, something wrapped around me like a rope and I was flying through time and space.

It took me a moment to realize that tendrils of green light were dragging me away, and that the Earth was fading into the distance. I could hear screams... my friends? I was so confused, I thought I was dying.

Later I awoke in a desert wasteland, the sun beating down on my back. Was I high? What the hell? I knew I wasn't in Vietnam, the United States, I wasn't anywhere on Earth. I'm not sure how I knew, but I did. It was the painful, sharp feeling in my gut, a horrid sense of great loss.

Home was gone, behind me, and I was never going back.

So I walked forward. For days I stumbled through the wasteland, not sure where I was going, or for what reason. What was left for me?

Eventually I succumbed to darkness. After a while I awoke and found myself in the arms of a stranger. I wasn't really awake, but I realized that a strong man was carrying me, a very tall man... and I heard a little girl asking questions.

Barret Wallace had found me and taken me to Edge, which apparently had been close by. As soon as I awoke, I found I had a new friend in his daughter, Marlene. She was sitting by my bed, grinning broadly.

"Are you feeling better, miss?" She had asked. I didn't know what to say. _Marlene!? From Final Fantasy? Not... possible..._

Tifa had walked into the room next, and to my great embarrassment I screamed and fell out of the bed onto my ass. Marlene could've been explained away as just a little kid that looked like the character... but Tifa and her... "assets" were unmistakable. I did what any self respecting fan would've done... I immediately crawled under the bed and closed my eyes, chanting the mantra, "You're dreaming, you're dreaming..."

"Uh... are you okay?" Tifa kneeled by the bed and I immediately scooted away in fear. Great, a grown woman acting like a child. I didn't really care.

"Daddy! The girl's awake!" Marlene ran out to find her father. "She's under the bed!"

I flushed scarlet. Great, just tell the whole world I'm a coward.

Of course, eventually others decided to come see the spectacle. Barret came upstairs with Denzel, and both tried coaxing me out from under the bed. Barret essentially said, "Fuck's the matter? Come on, we ain't gonna hurt you!" I squeaked and covered my eyes.

Denzel, I learned, was intuitive. While Tifa, Barret, and Marlene tried to convince me to come out, he ran after the one person who could calm me down.

The room grew quiet and I began to believe they'd finally left. But then a new pair of eyes showed by the edge of the bed. For a moment, the man just looked at me, trying to show he was no threat. It was like a person trying to approach a wild animal. Then he beckoned me. "Come on," He said gently. "We won't hurt you."

Cloud Strife managed to calm me down because of one reason. In my head, Cloud equaled the closest thing to home: my brother. My brother had been the one to introduce me to Final Fantasy. He once told me his favorite characters were always the lead heroes, like Cloud. I had only been a kid at the time, but from then on, Cloud made me think of my brother. He made me feel safe.

So, nervously, I crawled out, still blushing. He smiled kindly, as if it didn't matter that a thirty two year old woman, older than him, was acting like she was five.

I stood, hanging my head, before I glanced around at the group. It hit me again: _This can't be happening... this is a dream..._

Cloud held out his hand. "I'm Cloud." He said. I nodded, and instead of shaking his hand, I suddenly hugged him and began to cry.

I was never going home, I remembered. All my friends... my family... did they think I was dead? What was going to happen now?

I had nowhere to go... no one who knew me... I had nothing.

I clung to Cloud desperately as if doing so might give me a reason to live.

A few days passed and I finally began speaking to them. Tifa was the first one I talked to. Girls always made me feel more comfortable anyway.

"What's your name?" She asked. I hesitated. For some reason I wondered if my name mattered, since it was the name everyone from my past called me. Should I make up a new name? For a new life?

No, because I was still the same person. Usually I was so optimistic! What would my friends think? I knew what they'd think. They'd probably hit me and call me an idiot, or hug me real tight and tell me it's okay. I smiled for the first time, and told Tifa,

"I'm... Amanda."

Tifa and Cloud gave me a place to stay at the Seventh Heaven, and I began to work for them. Cloud was always busy with his deliveries, so it was usually just me, Tifa, and the kids. It was fun. I usually wasn't very good with kids, but I began to get use to them. They weren't so bad, and Marlene was the only really loud one. But she was nice enough. Barret visited often as well.

During those days I slowly revealed to Tifa what had happened to me, hoping desperately she wouldn't think I'd hit my head on a rock or gone bonkers. In the end, she asked me to prove it, to do something to prove my story.

"The only way, I guess, is personal information." I murmured. "Well... there was Mideel, when Cloud was sick and you took care of him."

Tifa shrugged as she cleaned the bar. "A lot of people know that."

"Do they also know you two fell into the lifestream together and you helped him piece together his past?"

She looked surprised, but still skeptical. "Well... anything else you could say?"

Oh there was. "I can't say it." I told her with a sigh. "The best way I know to prove it to you is to tell you personal information of the most secretive one in your group. Stuff no one would know about, but him. But I'd never do that."

Tifa's eyes grew wide. "You mean Vincent?" I nodded. Curiosity shone in her eyes. She wanted to know. But she respected me for not telling.

"All right. Well... do you want me to tell the others your story?" I nodded.

"I'd rather not tell it twice."

I found out a few days later that all the AVALANCHE members were going to have a meeting at the bar. It shocked and scared me.

"Why?" I'd asked Barret when I found out.

"Tifa has somethin' to say. Don't ask me!" The man said. "She's the one that set it up."

So it was about me. I asked her why. "I thought if we told everyone, we might find a way to send you home." Hope rushed through me, with fear as well. Was it really possible?

Not to mention... all of AVALANCHE? That was... Nanaki, Reeve, Yuffie, Vincent, Cloud, Barret, Tifa, and... Cid.

My faced flushed and I rolled my eyes. Every "fan girl" has a crush, right? Mine was Cid. I had a thing for southerners. Ironically, any thoughts I'd had of my romantic interest back on Earth were gone. He and I had only gone on two dates... and he had a rather bland personality, anyway. He looked nice, but rather empty headed.

The day came and I found myself really excited. Unlike my first meeting with Tifa, Barret, and Cloud, I was prepared this time, and I was thrilled. I was gonna meet Vincent! And Cid! And Nanaki, and Reeve! How cool was that? How many fans would've killed to be in my place? I desperately wished my friends could be with me.

I was waiting in the bar, nervous now, anxious for people to arrive. I heard an engine outside and leapt to my feet, but before I could make it to the door, in walked Cloud.

My face lit up when I saw him. He smiled lightly and nodded. We sat together and shared light conversation until the others showed up.

Yuffie was next, and though she hadn't been my favorite character, I had to smile as Cloud introduced us. She gave me a big hug and told me to cheer up. Somehow she knew I was a little depressed. I took a liking to her, and found she wasn't as annoying as she had been in the game. Then again, years had passed, hadn't they?

Almost right after, Reeve walked in, and he politely shook my hand. Reeve, I noticed quickly, seemed to have taken a liking to Tifa. Once the woman entered the room, he immediately walked over and began talking. I filed that information away for later use, hoping I could help Tifa realize that though Cloud didn't love her, someone else could, and did.

Next was Nanaki, who immediately knew I was from another world. He said so aloud, shocking Cloud, Yuffie, and Reeve, and making me flush red. Immediately he apologized, but it was really no big deal. During all that commotion, someone else arrived.

"Vincent!"

I was a little nervous to look up when I heard his name. Even though I had a crush on Cid, I knew Vincent was handsome incarnate. My heart was thumping in my chest just from hearing his name. But I didn't want to be rude so I looked up.

Man, was he tall! I was Cloud's height, but he towered over everyone but Barret. His burning crimson eyes landed on me, and I could tell that he too knew I wasn't from Gaia. Like Nanaki, he had extraordinary senses.

For a moment I was desperately afraid he could see right into my mind, that he knew every secret in there. He did NOT need to know about the day dreams I'd had about him in the past... though it felt like an eternity, his eyes finally left me, and I let out a sigh of relief.

"He's not as bad as he looks, really." Yuffie assured me. I immediately, and in a flustered manner, tried to cover up my response.

"N - No! I - I wasn't afraid of him or anything..." I didn't want Vincent to think I didn't like him, but I didn't want him to know I thought he was hot either. So I fell silent.

Cid was, ironically, the last one to show up. My heart fluttered in my chest. This feeling was different from the feelings that Vincent inspired. It was light, warm, like a burgeoning flower; Vincent's were like a burning fire, tearing away inside of me.

He was just as rugged and handsome in real life as he had looked in the movie. My cheeks flushed and I bit my lip. Cid walked in with a commanding gait, a big grin on his face, and hands on his hips. His usual goggles were on his head, and his blonde hair was ruffled and it made him look cute.

"Since everyone's here now, let's get started." Tifa sent an encouraging look my way. I took that as my hint to say goodbye so that she could tell everyone my story. I nodded to the group, and ran off to deal with my conflicting feelings.

I went outback and found the kids playing. Denzel and Marlene smiled when I appeared, and Denzel held up a ball.

"Wanna play?"

Apparently the neighborhood kids were playing soccer. I saw about ten of them spread out across the backyard. I smiled. "Sure. But isn't it a little unfair for one team to have an extra player?" I asked with a smile.

Marlene grinned deviously. "It'll be all the kids against you!"

I feigned a shocked gasp. "What? How will I ever win?" Then I grinned at her giggles.

A distraction; just what I needed. The kids looked thrilled at the chance to gang up on me, so I took the ball from Denzel and shouted, "Let the game begin!"

It was a lot of fun, more fun than I thought it would be. Most of the time I spent chasing after them and trying to guard my goal at the same time. I didn't do a great job of that. I think I lost the game 38 - 2. But it didn't matter; they were all having fun, and I was forgetting all about my problems, and my feelings. I couldn't afford to get attached to anyone if I wanted to go home.

But if ... if I didn't go home?

I ignored those thoughts and kept playing the game.

"Aha! A goal for Team Amanda!" I cheered with a whoop.

"So! That's like three to a zillion!" One little girl replied.

"We still win!" Two little boys cheered.

"Oh yeah?" I put my hands on my hips. "Who says?"

Next thing I knew I was covered in a swarm of small children. Note to self; do not bait children. Children tackle and bite.

"Hey! Hey! Let me go! Ahh!" I was laughing as I tried to stand, pulling them all up with me. "Wraaaagh!" I tried pretending to be a giant monster that the kids were fighting. They seemed to like that.

"Don't worry Marlene I'll save you!" Denzel cheered. I could imagine him as Cloud, and Marlene as his Aeris. I didn't say that out loud though, most certainly not!

"Ah! The monster has me!" I hugged the girl to my chest as she pretended to scream, freeing myself from the other midgets.

"Ahem."

We all turned and saw Cloud leaning against the door. I blushed.

"Um... right." I grinned nervously. "Time for me to go kids."

They all complained as I left, which made me feel really cool. Then, I felt a little silly for thinking I was cool because a bunch of twelve year olds wanted to play with me. But I cut off that train of thought. AVALANCHE wanted to talk to me.

All my nerves were back as I walked into the room. How had they taken it? Had Tifa told them I knew their secrets? Their pains, their joys? Their pasts?

No one seemed annoyed or angry when I came in, so that was a relief. Cloud had me sit down in the circle, and when I did, surrounded by the heroes, I felt very small.

We didn't say a word about what I knew. All we talked about was getting me home. Vincent soon left without a word, clearing going to look for something. It felt good knowing he was on my side, trying to help me out. Yuffie promised to search her home country's annals for any information, and Reeve left to search the WRO database. Everyone was helping, and I allowed myself to feel a little more hope.

Nanaki left for Cosmo Canyon, likely to ask his own people for information. After that, Cloud, Tifa, Barret, and Cid were left.

Barret went outside to play with the kids, while Cloud helped Tifa clean up dinner.

It was like fate. It was perfect. It was just me and Cid, sitting there. I could say something. I had to say something.

"Y'know... smoking's really bad for you." I muttered. Then I winced. Great way to start a conversation, very nice.

"I know. Damn it if I can stop, though. Too fuckin' addictin'." Cid complained, lifting the cigarette back to his lips.

"My father was a smoker. Heh, half the people in my family were." I said. He looked at me.

"You?"

I shook my head. "Asthma." He cocked an eyebrow, confused. "It's a medical condition in my lungs. I have a very weak respiratory system, I would likely die if I smoked."

Cid laughed darkly. "Most every smoker dies from smokin'."

I smirked. "Well, I'd die a whole lot faster." His last sentence worried me. "If you know that, why continue?"

He shrugged. "Can't quit. I tried during the journey to beat Sephiroth, but once Meteor came around, well... fuck, if the world's about to end, might as well smoke, right?" He looked at me and my face burned. I prayed he didn't notice. "After that... I never got back around to trying again."

Something bold in me surfaced and I reached out and plucked the cigarette from his fingers. "H - Hey!"

"Why not try now?" I said, putting it out in an ashtray. I could hardly believe what I was doing. "The sooner you quit, the sooner your lungs start to heal."

"Huh. Really?" He looked a little pissed, but not nearly as much as I thought he would. Finally he shrugged. "All right, I'll give it a shot." After he said that I held my hand out.

"What?" I pointed at his goggles, where his cigarettes were tucked away. He cursed as he took the carton out and handed it to me. I tucked it into my pocket, satisfied.

From there, talking to him was easy. I was really proud of myself, being outgoing and all. I couldn't believe what I was doing. There he was, my crush, and I was managing to keep my voice from shaking. I'd never been so brave.

Cid hung around for a few days after that, helping Cloud in the garage work on Fenrir. How I loved that bike. The thing was fuckin' gorgeous, as Cid might say. How much I wanted to ride it. But, I didn't know how, and I knew Cloud would never let it out of his sight. Maybe one day I'd ask him to take me for a ride.

Suddenly I realized how dirty my thoughts sounded, and it reminded me of how my friends and I use to joke around like that. I laughed out loud, and both Cid and Cloud turned and stared at me. I awkwardly said goodbye and ran like a bat out of Hades.

I only saw Cid with a cigarette one time, which I frowned at him for, but he promised it was the first one he'd had in a while. I let it go.

That night I remembered I still had the cigarettes I'd taken from him. Nervous, I took them out. I wondered what was so good about them, that half of my father's side of the family smoked them, and Cid too. I'd never even thought of trying them because of my health...

I took one out and looked at it, but before I could give into the temptation, I ran into the bathroom and threw them all into the toilet.

0-0-0

A few days later I walked into the garage and saw something that made me want to laugh and cry at the same time.

Cid was kissing Cloud. And I could tell Cloud liked it.

When you see two men kissing, there's something in your mind that shuts off. It's like seeing a car crash. You want to keep staring, but you know you shouldn't. I stood there in awe of what I was seeing and it took me a minute to realize tears were streaming down my face. Cid was... gay? Sure, I'd read fanfics about it... but he really was gay? And with Cloud?

Both of them were covered in grease from working on Fenrir. I guess somehow they'd found a connection as they'd worked together. I'd get over it.

It was good anyway, right? Because once I went home I'd have to say goodbye anyway.

If I ever went home.

0-0-0

"Fill er up."

Tifa frowned and shook her head. "You've had enough Amanda. I'm sorry." How desperately I wanted to share with her the knowledge of Cid and Cloud's relationship. I had to tell somebody. But Tifa was in love with Cloud, and it would hurt her as much as it would me. She'd have to find out eventually... but not from me.

"C'mon Teef." I mumbled. My words were slurring. I was drunk off my rocker. "Just... one more, for old time's sake..."

She laughed a little. "Old times?" Tifa shook her head and came out from behind the bar. "Come on, time to get you to bed..."

"I'll take her."

Cid walked over and sent Tifa off. "You're busy workin' anyway, I'm just sittin' on my ass." I felt him tuck his arms under my shoulders and my legs and felt like crying again. Everything was so wrong.

He took me upstairs and I began to cry.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Whaddya mean?" I asked him. I feigned ignorance.

"You know fuckin' well what I mean. You're cryin'."

Sighing, I tried hiding my head in the crook of his neck. Cid set me on the bed in my room and pulled a chair up nearby. I turned away.

"C'mon. Give me somethin' here." His voice was soft. He really did feel bad. So I rolled over.

"What am I supposed to do?" I asked him. I didn't elaborate. Cid understood.

"Well... either we're gonna find a way to getcha home..." He began. "Or you're gonna hafta find a way to start over."

Start over... my heart lurched in my chest. My family... my friends... if I never went home I would have one regret; not saying goodbye. I had been wrenched away too fast.

I sat up quick and hugged Cid, and thanked him. Then I was too tired to remain awake, and fell asleep in his arms.

Voices... I could hear voices...

"_Is she okay?"_

"_She'll be all right. Reminds me of you. Doesn't say fuckin' nothin' bout her problems. I mean, we all knew she was missin' home and shit, but she didn't open up about it."_

"_It's hard. Showing your weaknesses to others."_

"_Tough shit. That's what friends are for! You numbskulls need to get it through your heads!"_

"_Cid..."_

"_... Cloud, I ... oh fuck it... I fuckin' love you... don't ask me how or why... but I fuckin' do."_

"_I ... I don't know Cid. I really don't."_

"_... fuck!" _

"_Cid! Wait -!"_

_SLAM._

I woke up with the world's worst hangover. I think each hangover is the worst, simply because it is. Each time it hurts like hell. I decided to stay in bed and sleep.

Had I dreamt about last night? Had Cid and Cloud really had an argument?

As I thought, I made a decision.

The people of AVALANCHE were helpless. Tifa loved Cloud, Cid loved Cloud, Reeve loved Tifa, Cloud still loved Aeris. They weren't helping themselves.

So, for as long as I was around... I would help them.


	2. Heartbroken

Nothing.

Our searches came up with nothing. The WRO, Wutai, Cosmo Canyon, the Ancients, there was no information anywhere about my world or any other world other than Gaia. There was nothing on universal travel, on the life stream reaching out and plucking people from other worlds... we had no leads.

I was stuck.

 A new depression settled in on me after I found that out, but Cid was quick to relieve me of that. He hit me in the head, and of course pissed me off.

"What the fuck was that for!?"

"Heh, so you do cuss!" Cid laughed, and as I tried to hit him he ducked out of the way. "Look, I know you miss home, but being all emo about it ain't gonna make it any better! Fuck! Just try movin' on."

Easy for him to say. But I knew he was right. I couldn't mope forever; that was Cloud's job. I chuckled and nodded. Then I remembered my personal promise to try and help Cid and the others, so I turned to him.

"Uh, Cid?" He grunted. "Are... are you and Cloud...?"

His head snapped around, eyes wide. "You love him, don't you?" I asked.

The pilot's face flushed and he turned away. It was rather adorable. To comfort him, I put a hand on his wrist.

"Don't worry about me judging, I'm the last one you have to worry about." Gay, straight, it didn't matter to me. "... so how does Cloud feel?"

"Hell if I know!" The blonde scoffed. "Won't tell me shit! Won't say 'yes', won't say 'no', he just leaves the room whenever I enter it."

"I think it's time for psychologist Amanda!" I joked, moving towards Cid. "Look, I think Cloud probably feels a lot for Aeris still, right?"

 Cid nodded. "Course he does. He loved her."

"Okay, so you're the first person other than Aeris that he's had feelings for. Don't you think he might feel like he's betraying her memory by falling in love again? Most of all, with another man?"

I let the words sink in for a moment before I kept speaking. "Cloud's afraid. He knows he loves you, but he still loves Aeris. He's confused. You gotta talk to 'em!"

"You're right. Damn it, you're right." He looked right at me and grinned. "You're good."

Butterflies sprouted to life in my stomach and I immediately and ruthlessly squished them. Then I smiled. "Go get 'em, tiger!"

The pilot laughed and eagerly leapt to his feet, running back into the bar to find his soon to be boyfriend (so I hoped). I really hoped I was right, because I'd just been stabbing in the dark. Also, my own heart was hurting. For a moment I allowed myself to cry again, putting my head on my knees.

 "Damn it all, Cid Highwind..." I muttered. "Why is love so confusing?"

"Are you all right?"

 The deep baritone voice made me squeak, and I quickly spun around to find Vincent Valentine towering over me. I leapt to my feet.

"Oh! Mr. Valentine!" I stammered, embarrassed. A look came over his face. "I'm... I'm all right."

"Do you need me to leave?" He asked. I shook my head.

"No! No, I just..." I sighed. More butterflies were in my stomach now, though they felt more like big, fat chocobos running amuck. Vincent drove my body and my mind crazy! Flushing, I turned away. "I just was trying to help Cid with some problems."

"You helped him reconcile his relationship, though you have feelings for him." Shocked I glanced up at him.

"H - How?"

"I've noticed you're actions around him. And I've known for a long time that Cid had feelings for Cloud." Vincent explained. Sighing, I nodded.

"I'm trying desperately not to beat myself up for this. Each time I fall for someone, it gets screwed up."

 Vincent's eyes seemed a little sympathetic; I knew he knew all about screwed up love. I looked up at him and realized he was just the person to comfort me, for all his foreboding attitude and creepy demeanor.

"How so?" Vincent asked. In his own way, he was trying to help. I sat back down on the ground, and motioned for him to sit as well. He sat nearby, half his face hidden by the familiar cowl.

"I was with this uh... person in college. I really loved... them." I caught myself before saying "her". "But they broke up with me. Turned out they never cared, I was just an experiment for them." The word was out of my mouth before I realized how bad it was to talk of love and "experiments" with Vincent Valentine. He didn't seem too affected though.

"A woman?"

Again I was flustered and shocked. "Are you psychic!?"

He chuckled, and more fat chocobos danced in my gut. "You were not at all bothered by Cid's romantic inclination. You accepted him quickly. And most college 'experiments' are of the same sex kind."

I nodded. "I thought she was the one. Well, whatever." I shook my head. "She was the last one, until Cid."

We were both quiet for a moment, and I tried desperately to reign in my emotions. Damn it, why did Vincent affect me so? I admired the guy, and he was really cool, but I'd never loved him like I had Cid. So what was this?

"I make you uncomfortable." Vincent finally said.

"W - what?"

"I make you nervous. I'll leave -"

"Don't." I whispered. I hated how weak I sounded. Then I turned away. "People in general make me nervous. You especially because you're ... well..." I knew this was going to be embarrassing, but I had to say it or else Vincent would think I hated him. "You're the type of person that I would want to impress, to not look stupid around. You were one of my favorite characters in the game, I really admired you. So when you're nearby... I get really shy." Immediately I noticed my right arm was shaking. Yep, my nerves had escalated to the "my body begins to shake like a leaf in the wind" stage. I was so pathetic.

"Amanda..." My name sounded like sex coming from his lips. I blushed and looked away.

"Don't be nervous around me. You don't have to try and impress me." He said. "You already have."

"I have?" Shocked, I glanced up at him. He nodded.

"You came from another world, friendless and with nowhere to go, but you haven't lost hope. You continue to smile. I could not do that." He shook his head.

I smiled lightly. The tremor in my arm was going away. "You're stronger than you think, I know you are."

Vincent turned away and did not respond. We sat in quiet peace for a little longer.

A moment later I heard screaming and someone barreled into me. I yelped as suddenly I was held tightly in someone's arms and was rolling down the hell, while I screamed and he cheered happily. We stopped in a dip in the hill, and I noticed suddenly that I was pinned beneath Cid's body and the man was acting like a maniac.

"You were right, you were right! _He loves me_!" The man cheered and hugged me tighter, and I had to hold back tears. The tremor was back, but Cid was too excited to notice. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"N - No problem, Cid." The man lifted me up and swung me around still laughing. "Cid! I'm gonna get air sick!"

Finally he set me down and grinned at me. "We're goin' on a date tomorrow and it's all thanks to you! Anything I can do for you ever, you just tell ole Cid, all right?"

I smiled and nodded. "Sure thing, Cid. I'll remember." With one last whoop he ran off, likely to accost the next friend he met. My heart hurt a little... but I felt better from talking to Vincent.

Speaking of, where was he? I looked back up to where he had been... but he was gone.

0-0-0

"I'm afraid I've found yet another dead end." Reeve sighed. He, Tifa, and I were sitting at the bar after closing time, talking about my home. "The WRO has some information on a tome that apparently talked of the concept of other worlds and realities, but it has disappeared. There is no lead as to its wherabouts." He sighed and hung his head.

I hated to see Reeve so stressed because of me. I hugged him tight and thanked him for trying. "I owe you guys so much... I hate seeing you working so hard for me. What did I do to deserve it?"

"You're our friend. We're going to do our best to get you home." Tifa promised. I smiled at her, and then at Reeve.

"Hey, Mr. Tuesti, does the WRO have any dances or get togethers or anything?" I asked with a smile. He seemed confused by the seemingly random answer.

"Um, well yes. There are holiday celebrations and the like."

"You should get a date." I smiled wryly, and he knew exactly what I meant, glaring daggers at me as best he could. But I knew Reeve was too nice for glaring daggers.

Tifa entered the kitchen, leaving Reeve and I alone for the moment.

"Talk to her!" I whispered.

"She loves Cloud, not me." He responded a bit irritatedly.

"Cloud's gay!" This shocked him, but I didn't give him time for a response. "Snatch her up before somebody else does!"

 Tifa walked back into the room and we fell quiet, Reeve with a bright blush across his cheeks. She looked at the two of us with a little suspicion, before moving on with her look.

I threw a knowing glance Reeve's way. The poor flustered man could only sigh.

0-0-0

AVALANCHE had another group meeting at the end of that month. It was snowing outside; the end of November. The depression had settled back in when I realized that I would be celebrating Christmas, New Years, and my birthday... without my friends or family.

I did my best to hide my depression from my friends, especially at the group meeting. I didn't want them all trying to cheer me up all at once. I might have had a heart attack.

"So there's this old book thing that might have some info in it?" Yuffie asked. "Then we gotta find it!"

"I'm afraid it's been lost to time." Reeve sighed. "Our only hope is that one of the scientists who was studying it might've copied some of it down."

"There were scientists studying it?" Nanaki asked. Reeve nodded.

"Shinra, of course. If I can get a hold of some of Shinra's information, I might find out something."

"Do you think Rufus and his gang'll help us?" Barret muttered. He still hated Shinra, and I didn't blame him.

"It's worth a try. Tomorrow I'm going to meet him." Reeve explained.

"Brave man." Cid muttered.

"Thank you guys so much." I told them. "Really, all of you rock for doing this for me. I really gotta find a way to pay you back."

"I want cigarettes for Christmas!" Cid declared jokingly. I leapt to my feet and shouted, "No!"

To my surprise and joy, everyone broke into laughter.

0-0-0

The Christmas party was two weeks before Christmas, and it was held in Cosmo Canyon. It was such a great place, I absolutely loved it. Nanaki was pleased to have everyone in his home land, and he greatly enjoyed showing me around.

The place was well decorated, but it wasn't the really traditional Christmas, but a more native style of it. I loved it. Everyone was dancing and there were fires everywhere... for a little while I was able to forget about my losses and just enjoy myself.

But as midnight came around the depression sank in. Mom... dad... my brothers and sister... my friends... I wandered through the party thinking about them. Remembering past Christmases with them. Wishing they could be here, or I could be there. Eventually I found myself perched atop the high rock overlooking Cosmo Canyon, high above the party goers. Tears fell down my face as I looked out at the sky.

"It seems we bump into one another whenever you are in pain."

The voice was familiar and I was proud that this time I didn't jump. I turned and saw Vincent perched even higher than me, sitting on the top of the observatory. He leapt down to where I was and walked over.

"You miss your family."

"You know everything about me don't you?" I joked. He sat beside me with a chuckle.

"Christmas is a time for family." He explained.

I dried my tears and closed my eyes. "Christmas at my house was a blast." I took in a deep breath, letting the memories flood me. "Christmas... two days after Christmas, my niece was born." Warmth filled my heart remembering her. "New Years Eve... my parents got married. New Years day... I was born."

"December is a busy month for your family." Vincent murmured.

A laugh escaped me. "That's a frickin' understatement!" It felt good to laugh. "December... winter, it... it was the best time of the year. My niece... she'd be turning sixteen this year. I can't believe I'm missing it..." I bit my lip and for the first time felt true anger at whoever had wrenched me away from my life.

"I'm sorry for your loss."

I turned and looked at Vincent. "How is it that you are there whenever I need you?" I whispered.

He smirked. "Perhaps you unknowingly search me out."

I smirked back and rolled my eyes. "Sure, whatever."

We sat in peace and looked out over the canyon. I noticed that my nerves were back, gentler this time. It was as if my feelings were becoming... more intimate. I glanced at Vincent. He really was handsome. I quickly glanced away and admonished myself.

"Where'd you go... that day?" Vincent glanced at me. "The day you found me crying, a few months back?"

He didn't respond immediately. "I had to take care of something."

I sighed, but knew that Vincent was the secretive type. I was lucky he'd been so open with me, up until then. I didn't know he could speak so much! I smiled at my silent joke.

"Hey! Love birds!"

Yuffie was shouting at us from the lower path, and I blushed at her words. "Y - Yuffie!" I admonished and she ignored me.

"Come join the party! You can make out later!"

"W - What!?" I glanced at Vincent and saw that he was bright red. It was rather adorable. To save us both some embarrassment I stood and frowned. "Yuffie Kisaragi, I'm coming for you!"

The ninja squeaked and started running, and I ran after. Truth was, I wasn't running after her; I was running from Vincent, and whatever it was he made me feel.

0-0-0

"Nothing?"

Reeve sighed and shook his head. "Nothing at all."

A moment later I cursed and slammed my fist against the bar. Tifa looked rather forlorn, empathetic, but I didn't want empathy. I wanted answers.

"You said there was a book. Somebody has to know where it is!"

The man looked pitiful, and I hated it. _Don't pity me! Help me! Give me answers, god dammit!_

Instead of waiting for him to speak, I ran outside, ran away from the bar... ran away from the lie I'd been living while I'd hoped to find my way home.

And wouldn't you know? It was raining. Was I in a movie where all the dramatic moments happened in rain? Like in _Dragonheart_ when the knight recounted his oath to the weak and humble? Ah, but in that movie, the knight was saved from his loneliness by his friend, the dragon. I had no dragon. I had no friends.

I was being foolish, but I kept running. I couldn't take it anymore. What the fuck!? As a young child, hadn't I always wanted to live in a video game? When I was ten years old I would've given anything to meet Auron, or Cloud, or Yuna. Who was I fooling? I knew nothing. I still knew nothing.

Where in the world was I running to? It felt like I'd been running forever, and my legs were throbbing.

I opened my eyes and found I was in an old, dilapited part of Edge. No... I was in the ruins of Midgar.

I was sobbing, and shaking; I ran to the nearest building that wasn't destroyed and went inside for shelter. What I saw inside made me realize it was no random place.

It was a church, a familiar place to me. Outside thunder rumbled, and lightning flashed, but I felt safe. Wrapping my arms around myself, I tentatively walked inside.

I felt like a trespasser, like a criminal. What did I deserve to be in Aeris's church? Nervous, I approached the front, where rain was falling through a hole in the roof. It was really storming, like it might blow the building over.

It was a holy place, it really felt like one. My eyes wandered it, nervous, until I soon realized I was not alone.

I was in a field of flowers.

"... h - hello?"

_It's nice to meet you._

Her sweet voice shocked me. It was... "A - Aeris?"

_That's right. You've been hurt, haven't you?_

_But don't worry. Everything happens for a reason._

I was bitter. "So? It doesn't make it hurt less. Just because everyone dies doesn't make death easier to handle." I was being a bitch, and suddenly felt very guilty. "Sorry."

_I understand. Things will get better. It will all make sense, I promise._

Sighing, I turned towards her. She didn't disappear; she was very beautiful. "I see why Cloud loved you."

She laughed kindly. _And I can see why they love you._

I smiled with a little blush on my cheeks. "Can you..." I bit my lip. "Can you see my family from where you are? My friends? Are they... are they okay?"

Aeris looked sad._ I'm sorry. I can't see beyond my world. _My heart plummeted. _I'm sorry._

"It's - It's okay." I sniffled and closed my eyes. "I'm sure they're fine."

Aeris suddenly glanced around. You're in danger, she told me. Oh no. They're not going to find you in time!

Confused, I became worried. "What are you talking about?"

 Then, suddenly, Aeris looked relieved. He's coming for you. Don't worry, you're going to be safe. Then she smiled kindly.

I reached out to her. "Wait! What are you talking about?" I reached for her, but she was fading away. "Aeris!"

Suddenly I was in the church again, hearing thunder and lightning, and it was still raining cats and dogs. A sudden chill raced down my spine, and I gasped. I was knee deep in water.

The church was flooding.


	3. Lighthouse

_Because I Asked You To Stay _

Chapter Three: Lighthouse

Midgar was in a giant hole in the ground. Edge was built around the hole, around Midgar's ruins; and all the rain was filling it up. It was storming hard, and likely had been for hours. My time with Aeris must've been longer than I thought.

Panic rushed through me; I might've been depressed, but I wasn't suicidal. I tried rushing to the door, but the water was holding me back. I was in serious trouble.

It would take me hours to get out this way, and the current was strong. Once I could no longer stand I would be swept away. I'd have to find a high perch to wait on.

Glancing around, I looked for a way to climb up into the church rafters. There was a ladder in the back corner, and I moved as fast as I could towards it. A chuckle left my lips; it was just like when Cloud and Aeris first met, and they had to escape into the church rafters to get away from the Turks. Rain kept pouring in as I carefully climbed the ladder.

My pants were dragging me down but I finally got to the higher level, and kept moving. I didn't think the water would get that high, but I didn't know. I headed to hte highest level of the church, and sat near the giant hole in its roof.

From there, I could only watch the rain fall. I knew that my only hope was that the rain would let up and someone would find me. Other than that, I desperately hoped the rain would destroy Aeris's church.

 Suddenly I realized something; the Buster Sword, it was in the church. After Advent Children, Cloud moved it into the church. Sure enough, when I looked down, I saw the sword in the front of the church, with water almost all the way up it.

I couldn't let the Buster Sword be swept away! It was Zack's sword, Angeal's sword! Gritting my teeth I rushed back to the ladder. In my rush, I slipped down it and fell into the water, which rushed up my nose. I came up hacking and coughing, and rushed to stand so I wouldn't be swept away.

I struggled through the water to the sword, hurrying. I saw it moving with the water's flow and knew it was loose. So, to hurry, I began swimming.

I managed to fight the current long enough to get to the Buster, and I snatched it up, holding it above the water. I allowed the current to help me back to the ladder. Then came the hard part; climbing back up. I realized there was no way I'd be able to climb the ladder and hold the Buster Sword.

So I had a choice; risk going outside with the sword, hoping it would act as a float, or leave it, and climb to safety?

I knew I could never leave it. So, the second choice it was.

Scared out of my mind, I clutched the sword tight and headed outside. The waterfall through the church door knocked me on my ass and I almost lost the Buster, but I managed to stand quickly.

The ruins were full of water everywhere, like a giant river had begun to flow through Midgar. If I hadn't been so scared, I would've been in awe of it. But as it was my life was in serious danger and I didn't know what to do.

As soon as I was out from under the church, I was pummeled with rain, and I realized a new danger when thunder rumbled through the sky.

I was in a giant body of water, holding a big metal sword. And there was lightning.

My heart was beating a mile a minute and I began to scream. "SOMEBODY!" I shouted. "SOMEBODY HELP!"

I was an idiot, I was going to end up dead because of the sword, and then the sword would be lost to the water too. But I couldn't let it go. I couldn't. "SOMEBODY! PLEASE!"

The water was getting higher as I waded, trying to head back to Edge. It was wearying, but I couldn't stop. I began making promises in my panic, promises I didn't think I'd live to keep.

"Please! I won't be depressed anymore! As long as I have the chance to live I'll have hope! I promise! Please don't let me die!" I was crying and clutching Buster like a baby. Lightning flashed and thunder rolled and I screeched.

Suddenly I was swept into the air and I hardly knew which way was up. A warm arm was wrapped around my cold, soaked waist, and the other arm took the Buster from me, holding it against his side. Frightened to death I immediately took comfort in his hold, whoever he was, sobbing and terrified. Great wings beat hard on the air as we soared out of Midgar and towards Edge.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you..." I whispered, rubbing my face against his chest.

Then, something happened. Suddenly I was falling, and I quickly hit the ground. I hadn't been more than five feet up, and though it hurt, something else hurt more. First, I realized that, of course, it had been Vincent who saved me, flying using his Chaos form.

The second thing I realized was that the Buster Sword had just become a lightning rod.

"_**VINCENT**_!"

0-0-0

Have you ever hurt someone you loved because of your own foolish mistake?

Vincent fell from the sky in slow motion, screaming a beast's cry of pain. The sword fell to the ground, perhaps melted from the heat, and Vincent fell into teh water face down, wings spread behind him. I raced to his side through the water, which was only shin high in Edge.

"Vincent! Vincent!" I knelt by him and without thinking, touched him, and pain rushed through me. It was electricity, which I think was absorbed by his demons, but demonic energy; the anger of a demon whose host has been badly injured. The beast snarled and turned on me, one of his clawed hands wrapping around my neck, the other slamming into the ground beside me. I was scared and crying, but not because of the demon.

"Vincent... V - Vincent... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry... Chaos, Vincent... I'm so sorry..." I sobbed and I realized, heh, I sound like Lucrecia. The poor woman. Chaos hand tightened around my neck and I fell silent awaiting my fate. Unlike before, I somehow was not as afraid of death. I was more afraid that I had hurt Vincent.

Vincent couldn't control Chaos at this point, I realized. The lightning had likely hurt him badly and with the gunman out of comission, there was no one to save me from Chaos. I just hoped to any God that it wouldn't be to painful.

We stayed like that for a while, with Chaos growling at me from above, his hand on my throat. I was so cold, so tired, and I was shivering from that and from fear. Something in Chaos's bright gold eyes... something was off. He looked strange.

A different kind of growl escaped him, a sort of irritated sound. The claws tightened for a moment, then released, and suddenly Chaos was at my neck.

"**Don't move**." He commanded, and I knew I wouldn't until he said I could.

For a moment he was breathing against my neck and it was creepy as all get out. But then, his lips touched my skin and his incisors slid right into my neck. It... hurt. Like a mother.

I'd never felt pain like that before, and it became worse. In a matter of seconds, I blacked out.

0-0-0

I awoke in a bed, in pain in every part of my miserable body. Name a muscle, I promise you it hurt. But what hurt most was my heart. Was Vincent okay? If I had killed him... if I... before I let myself cry again, I forced my body to sit up. It hurt so bad, but I did it anyway, and glanced around.

Vincent was resting in a bed nearby, sleeping peacefully. He didn't seem too hurt. Sighing in relief I allowed myself to lie back down.

Then I noticed the Buster Sword in the corner of the room. It wasn't melted! A miracle! How had that happened! I thanked any and all gods for that. At least that had gone right.

A moment later Cloud walked into the room, a worried look on his face.

"You all right?"

"I... hurt." I chuckled a little, and quickly regretted it. "Chaos... he bit me."

Cloud nodded and sat nearby. "Chaos lives off of life energy. He took some of yours to heal himself and Vincent."

Well, if that was the case, then A - okay. "Okay." Cloud looked confused. "What?"

"A demon fed from you and you don't mind?" I shrugged, and then cursed from the pain.

"If it helped them, I don't care."

"Them?" Cloud cocked an eyebrow. I nodded towards Vincent.

"Y'know... Vincent and Chaos." For some reason Cloud was still confused. I didn't get why. Then, he looked very guilty.

"You risked your life for the Buster. You shouldn't have." I smiled and glanced at it.

"I didn't just do it for you. I did it for Zack... and Angeal, too." For a moment he was surprised, but then he smiled genuinely.

"Thank you." He murmured quietly. I nodded.

"Are they... gonna be okay?" I asked. He nodded.

"Both of you just need rest." Cloud stood to leave the room, then stopped. "Amanda?"

I grunted. "Don't refer to Chaos around the others." Confused, I glanced up. "We don't usually think of him as a person. It might bother them if you do."

After a moment, I nodded. "Uh... okay." He smiled, and then was gone. I wondered if he was going to see Cid.

Once he was gone, I leaned back to think a little.

I had met Chaos. How strange; what a creature. I was sure he was gonna kill me, but he didn't. I wondered why. He could've drained all of my life energy, why hadn't he done that?

In a way I was in total awe of him. Chaos... was awesome. He could fly! I had always wanted to fly! I realized I actually had, during the storm but I didn't want to think about that.

I glanced back over at Vincent. He was still sleeping soundly. I wondered... could Chaos hear me inside of him?

I didn't know, but I decided to try. So, I stood and very slowly, moved over towards Vincent. I leaned towards his beautiful face and for a moment was distracted. I lightly brushed my hand over his gorgeous hair, ran a finger over his forehead, down his cheek. Then I blushed and removed my hand, leaning a little closer

"Uh... um... Chaos... if you can hear me..." Nervous, I closed my eyes. "Thank you for not killing me." I told him. I waited a moment, and then stood, slowly moving to my bed. I didn't quite make it. So I slouched over it sideways and sighed, relieved to be lying down again, kind of. Then I dragged my legs back into the bed, turned the correct way, and was asleep in seconds.

0-0-0

"Amanda, are you all right?"

"I'm fine. And I'm so sorry for running out on you." I told Reeve. "I was being childish. I've realized that even if I'm not home, I'm alive, and that's something to be thankful for." I smile at him by my bedside. "Thanks for trying so hard to help me get home."

He smiled back. "I'm glad to help." A light blush came to his face. "Um... also. About what you told a little while ago, about Cloud. How do you know?"

I glanced towards the door. "He and Cid..." I began. Reeve's eyes grew wide.

"Really?" I nodded.

"Just recently." This seemed to give Reeve something to think about. He glanced away.

"Does Tifa know?"

I shook my head. "And you definitely don't want to be the one to break the news. Not the best way to hook up with a girl." He blushed and looked away, and I giggled. "Just give it a shot! I promise, you're quite a catch, and Tifa would be foolish not to see it." He blushed darker.

"Well... I've got to go, duty calls, I um..." Reeve headed for the door and I grinned at him.

"Okay, go ahead! Say hi to Tifa for me!" With one last embarrassed smile, Reeve shook his head at me and left. I had to laugh.

"You're happy." A voice said, and I jumped, which hurt. "I'm glad you're not crying anymore."

I turned and saw Vincent awake, his eyes half opened. I smiled. "You helped me get over that. Thanks." He nodded, and then winced slightly, and guilt rushed through me.

"I'm so sorry about what happened, I'll do anything I can to make it up to you, anything at all!"

Vincent's look darkened. "Chaos took a great deal of your life energy. You've already repaid any debt you think you have."

I shook my head. "I have two debts: you saved my life, and I got you hurt. I've only repaid one debt." Vincent frowned, not approving of my logic. "I have to help you somehow."

"That's not neccessary." He insisted. I frowned.

"Mr. Valentine, can hardly move. Surely I can help."

Vincent looked back at me. "You can hardly move either."

We began a staring match then, a sort of contest. Of course he won, and smirked when he did. "Whatever, when we're both better, I'm gonna repay you whether you want me to or not!"

"Does that not defeat the purpose?"

"I'll defeat your purpose!"

"You're no longer making any sense."

"I never make any sense!"

I felt happier than I had since I first showed up in Gaia, but I wished it hadn't taken a run in with death, Chaos, and Vincent getting hurt for it to happen. I giggled for no reason and I think Vincent was beginning to believe I'd gone wacko.

Cid walked into the room just then, carrying two bowls of soup. "Hey, kiddos." Both Vincent and I frowned; Cid was only a few years older than me and Vincent was practically sixty.

"Food! Oh, I'm starving!" I happily took the meal from Cid. "Thanks, Cid!"

Cid set Vincent's bowl on the nightstand and helped the man sit up. It hurt me to see Vincent reduced to such a level, especially since it was my fault. But I wasn't going to let it drag me down. I was going to be happy, even if it killed me!

The soup was delicious. "Please thank the chef, whoever they are Cid. This is great!"

The blonde handed Vincent his meal and chuckled. "It was Tifa, and I'll pass the message on. Y'all rest up, ya'here?" Before he left, he turned and looked at us, shaking his head with a soft smile.

"Ah, kids... all grown up and..." He pretended to sniffle. "Falling in love!"

Both Vincent and I spit our soup out at the same time, shouting, "Cid!" or "Highwind!" The blonde pilot raced from the room, cackling.

Red faced, I turned back to my meal and kept eating. We ate silently for a little while.

"Why do you call me 'Mr. Valentine'?" Vincent asked suddenly. I didn't hear him clearly.

"What'd you say?" I asked. He repeated his question. I blushed a little.

"Cid, Cloud, Tifa... you call them by name. But not me."

I turned away, red faced. "Well... I respect you a lot... I didn't wanna disrespect you." I began eating again, nervous.

 When I glanced back up at Vincent, he was smiling lightly. "You may call me Vincent. I'd prefer it."

 My heart fluttered a little. "Oh... okay. Thanks, Vincent." Giddy, I turned back to my meal. "Man, this is really good!"

Vincent chuckled, and then we finished our meal in silence.

0-0-0

I healed a bit faster than Vincent, which was to be expected. I wasn't the one struck by lightning. So, eventually I tired of being on my butt in bed and was excited to get out of the house.

"Ah!" I sighed under the bright sun, which had finally reappeared. It was cold, and still winter, and there was the chance all the rain would freeze overnight if it got cold enough. Sounded good to me; perfect skating weather. I bundled myself up in a jacket and went outside.

"And just where do you think you're going?"

Ruh roh, raggy; busted. Slowly I turned and saw Tifa in the doorway, hands on her hips.

"Hey..." She cocked an eyebrow at me and I pouted. "Come on! Christmas is in two weeks and I haven't even shopped! I'm tired of being in bed!"

The woman chuckled and shook her head. "It's hard to believe you're older than me." I smiled brightly, hoping to convince her. "All right, but I'm coming with you."

I smiled. "Fine by me!" How much I wanted to make a perverted joke right then. But I caught myself; I was with Tifa Lockheart, not my crazy friends.

Once Tifa and I were properly clothed and warm, we set out into the cold, wet city.

It was fun shopping with her; she reminded me of one of my old friends, a girl younger than me, with reddish hair and glasses. Both she and Tifa had the same sisterly air, which was both filled with love and rivalry; at one moment a compliment, the next a joke at your expense. It made me miss her even more.

Eventually, as we shopped Tifa asked me about my home. I spent most of the time telling her about my friends and family, and all the crazy things we'd done. I told her about how we'd all had nicknames of characters from games, based on our personalities.

"And who were you?" Tifa finally asked. I smiled sadly.

"I was Zack. Mostly because he was my hero, I'm not much like him."

Tifa smiled. "I think Zack would be honored. I mean, you did risk your life for his sword."

I chuckled. "Does that make me brave or stupid?"

Tifa chuckled back. "Both!"

0-0-0

I had most of my gifts by the end of our busy day, but for Tifa and Cid. I couldn't buy Tifa's while she was there, and I didn't know what to get Cid. I was still thinking about it.

Vincent, surprisingly, had been rather easy. I had something planned for him, something I'd have to make myself. I was really excited.

That night I returned to my recovery bed and Vincent was already asleep nearby. I hoped desperately that he'd feel better soon.

I felt better in more ways than one. Becoming Tifa's friend had helped me cope a lot with my feelings of loss, and I was able to remember them with her. Plus, her compliment about Zack made me rather giddy.

Since I was too excited for sleep, I moved to the window and stared out at the soaked city. It had begun to rain again rather lightly, and the weather forecaster had predicted ice for the next day. I was glad my shopping was almost done.

For a minute I just let my thoughts wander, and they wandered to my mother. I thought about what she might say about Cid, Vincent, and my feelings for them.

_Well, the tall one, he's so skinny... I like the blonde, he's really rugged. But the dark haired one looks like your type... though you did like Hugh Jackman, didn't you? So I guess the blonde fits too..._

"Well, he doesn't really like girls mom." I sighed sadly.

_Hm? He's gay? Oh, baby... I'm sorry. Isn't it always like that? The best ones are taken or they're gay! Well... that dark haired one seems to really like you._

"No he does not!" My cheeks flushed.

_Don't deny it! He talks to you all the time and he really tries to help you. He cares. And he risked his life for you too. If he's not head over heels then he must be gay too!_

"I don't think he's gay mom, he was in love with a girl before." I rolled my eyes at her.

_Well, you'd better go after him before some other girl gets her chance! He's rather handsome even with that weird fashion sense. _

Laughing, I shook my head. "And what's dad think?"

_He's in the garage honey. I don't think he needs to know about your vampire lover._

"He's not a vampire and he's n - not my lover!"

_Well he could be if you got off your ass and made him!_

"Are you all right?"

Squealing I leapt out of my skin and fell onto the floor, which really hurt. Flushed red, I glanced over and saw Vincent sitting up, staring at me blankly. I blinked, and felt very, very awkward.

"Oh, I'm uh... I'm fine."

_Now get your hot body over here, lover! I want you so badly!_

The voice in my head that sounded so much like her made me blush even darker. "Shut up mom!"

If he hadn't thought I was insane before, Vincent surely thought so now. Oh well. Might as well let him know before he gets in too deep.

I decided mom was right. Cid was out of reach. But Vincent... if I could get behind that cold exterior... Vincent might not be.

"Sometimes I need a lighthouse for my own

It gets so dark I can't see which way I'm going

Lighthouse man I'm all at sea

Shine a little lighthouse light on me"

- Lighthouse, Waifs


	4. Inflitration

_Because I Asked You To Stay_

**Author's Note:**

**Thank you for all the reviews! I didn't expect this to be liked, it's sort of like personal therapy for me. But I'm glad others enjoy it too.**

**Nacarat Epos Seville: Yeah, our main OC is pretty childish, but I know a lot of people over twenty, thirty, even forty who act like they're two. XD Plus, I wanted to show that going into the world of "unreality" isn't all it's cracked up to be. To someone who is shy and child like, like Amanda, it would be quite the ordeal. **

**And yeah, there were quite a few grammatical errors, I'll fix them later and repost the chapter. Thanks for bringing that to my attention!**

**mom calling: Heh, you're not the only one! Like our OC, I have a big crush on Cid, and he's more than twice my age. Least I think he is. o.0 Usually I put Cloud on his own or still pining over Aeris or Sephiroth, I guess I decided to shake it up a little. Sorry! I hope you still like it!**

**Silver Eternity: I agree with you about Chaos; I always thought exploring the demon's personalities was fun. And I don't think of Chaos as a jerk, just as a ... sort of a Joker type, if you know what I mean, causing trouble but not having a true goal. He will play a big role in this story, all of the demons will. Also, I hate Hojo so much. I HATE him. And we do need to talk, I love talking to readers but I haven't in forever... maybe over DA, if you have one?**

Chapter Four:

"Here you are Tifa, and I am done for the night!" With a happy, relieved sigh I put my name tag into the drawer in the kitchen and stretched. Tifa shook her head at me.

"You shouldn't be working yet." She told me, hand on her hip as she made a meal for someone. As she did, waiters and waitresses ran about, bringing in orders and taking meals out for customers. "I still think you need some rest." She sounded like my mother, but I refrained from saying so.

"I'll be fine. I was so bored upstairs anyway, all Vincent does is sleep." As I sat down nearby, out of the way, I saw Tifa smirk.

"So... it's 'Vincent' now?" She glanced over at me and I blushed, glancing away.

"Well... he asked me to call 'em that." Tifa giggled like a school girl and I frowned at her. "What?"

"You two... it's so cute." Flustered I huffed and crossed my arms.

"Everybody keeps sayin' stuff like that! There's nothing, really!" I insisted. She spun around with a big grin.

"So why are you blushing?" She asked.

Cornered, I looked at the floor. Why couldn't I control the blood rush to my face? "Okay..." Sighing, I nodded. "I might feel something, but it's just a... it's just me."

"Keep telling yourself that." The woman said with a sing song tone, turning back to her cooking.

Ignoring her, I stood and left the room in a hurry, as Tifa kept giggling. Friends... so invaluable, sometimes annoying. It still shocked me that I was friends with Tifa Lockhart. It was hard getting use to being around my heroes, but at least I wasn't in Final Fantasy X. I would've had a heart attack meeting Auron and Lulu and them...

Instead of going to the guest room (Where I knew Vincent was asleep and I'd likely spend my time just staring at him), I went to the upstairs sitting room. Marlene and Denzel were doing homework at the center table, and Cloud was in the back reading a newspaper. I smiled when he looked up at me and sat nearby him.

"Good evening" He said. I glanced over out the window.

"Is it always like this in the winter?" I asked. Cloud glanced out the window.

"It's been really bad this year, but yeah... it usually rains and snows a lot." He looked over at me. "What about where you're from?"

"Hmm?" I turned to face him, and shrugged. "Sometimes. It got cold in the winter, and it snowed once or twice maybe, but nothing like this. But boy... it got real hot in the summer." I was from the American south... thinking of it made me a little homesick, but I have to say, I never did miss those hot summers.

"What was your job, back home?" Cloud set his paper down on his lap. I wondered why he was asking.

"I did a couple of things." Shrugging, I listed them off. "I worked at a publishing company, I was a secretary, I did whatever I could while I worked on my hobbies on the side. I taught violin for a while but I'm not such a good teacher."

This seemed to surprise him. "You play?" I smirked.

"Nope, just teach." He smirked back and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I started playing a long time ago. Didn't Tifa use to play an instrument?"

He nodded. "Use to play piano. I don't know that she does anymore."

"Probably not, since you don't have a piano around." I really missed my violin. I wished they had one of those around!

Cloud stood suddenly and moved towards the staircase. "You leaving?"

He nodded and said, "Yeah. Got a delivery to make."

I stood and went to the top of the stairs as he descended them. "Where?" I asked.

"Rocket Town."

I couldn't keep a big grin from lighting up my face. But, it also hurt. It was hard being a fan of boy on boy love, and having feelings for one of the guys in the relationship. I was still getting over that. But, seeing Cloud happy in a relationship made me happy too.

I headed back to the guest room eventually, and saw that Vincent was awake, reading a book. "Morning, sleepyhead." I grinned at him and plopped down on my bed as exhaustion set in. It had been a long day, and my muscles still hurt. Tifa was probably right about it being too early, but I was too stubborn to admit it.

Vincent didn't respond to me at first, so I looked over at him. He didn't really look like he was reading; more like he was trying to read but his thoughts were distracting him. "You okay?" I sat back up.

The man turned to me and nodded slightly, and returned to his book. That really didn't placate me one bit, but I wasn't going to hassle him about it. So I sighed and leaned back on the bed. After a little while, I just closed my eyes and let my thoughts drift.

I missed the fandom.

Oh, how I missed the fandom! Everything about it, even the annoying jinglish people and the horrible gamers who thought they were the best. I missed it all. Looking online at gorgeous fan art of Final Fantasy or Kingdom Hearts... looking at the demos, playing the games. How I missed it! I missed watching anime, reading fanfiction, oh it hurt not being able to do any of that.

I missed AMV's, I missed conventions, I missed cosplay. Being in the realm of the fandom was in many ways amazing, but it hurt really badly too.

Sighing, I wondered what my friends were doing right then. I tried not to imagine them at my funeral or missing me. If only I could contact them, just to say hello! A strange impulse came over me and I sat up, snatching the phone from the nightstand, and I dialed my home phone number.

"_...We're sorry, the number you have dialed has been disconnected..."_

Growling I slammed it back down on the receiver. Okay, so that hadn't been the most likely idea. But it was still disappointing that it hadn't worked.

Vincent was looking at me strangely, and I shrugged. I didn't want to tell him I was still going nuts about not being able to go home, though I knew he'd understand. So instead, I asked him, "Sure you're okay?" He still seemed distracted to me.

"I could ask you the same thing." He replied.

"I asked first."

He frowned, but sighed. After a moment I realized he wasn't going to answer my question and I huffed.

I was bored. Eventually, I became bored and tired, so I fell back and went to sleep.

0-0-0

The next day was my day off, and I had no idea what to do with myself. I woke up and had breakfast and found out that Vincent had headed off somewhere; of course he hadn't told anyone where he was going, or when he'd be back. Since he was gone, I decided to take advantage of his absence and work on his Christmas present.

So around noon, I bundled myself up and grabbed the camera Tifa was letting me borrow, and headed out into the city, looking like a tourist, which I was in a very big way.

The city was no longer flooded, and I was very anxious to see it, very hyper and happy. I left the bar on my own to explore, keeping an eye out for any places I might recognize from the Advent Children movie. I felt like the biggest geek.

Edge was a lovely, busy city, even during the freezing winter. as I walked I snapped a few shots of the white streets. I saw an item shop, and a weapons shop, and suppressed a laugh. The music from the game even began to play in my mind. How I missed playing video games!

Some people waved at me as I passed, and kids leapt into my shots with big smiles. It was cute, and I obliged. I kept walking and wondered about where in the city the fight with the Silver Haired Men had been.

Eventually I found the monument from the movie and was rather pleased to see it. I snapped a few pictures of it, imagining Bahamut perched on its top. How cool! I stood there for a while, replaying the great fight with the creature in my mind.

Then I remembered the funny scene with Reno and Rude and laughed aloud. After a while I moved on.

I found the building that Rufus and Kadaj had leapt off of and snapped a few pictures while I was walking, but I wasn't looking where I was going. With an "oof", I bumped into somebody and fell on my butt, snapping a picture of the sky instead.

"Oh, sorry!" I pulled my camera away from my face as I apologized. "I wasn't paying attention."

"Hey, it's no problem." A slightly cocky voice told me, and I recognized it quickly. My head snapped around to look at the speaker. "You all right, yo?"

I almost laughed at that. I could hardly believe it; Reno! Only my favorite Turk ever, grinning down at me with a boyish smile. He wasn't in his usual suit, but a big black jacket, boots, and tick black slacks. The man extended his hand, and grinning, I took it.

"Reno!" It was out of my mouth before I could stop myself, and I blushed. The man took it in stride.

"Have we met before babe?" He slid an arm around my waist and I managed a deeper blush.

"No, but uh, I've heard of you." This seemed to please him. Of course.

"Let me guess, one of your friends, right?" He wiggled his eyebrows. "I guess word gets around..."

"Oh, no, that wasn't it!" I chuckled and shook my head, and Reno looked playfully downhearted. I giggled again. "I actually happen to be a friend of Cloud's."

"Dammit." Reno frowned to my surprise. "Every girl's a 'friend' of Cloud's." Reno pouted.

"Not that kind of friend", I promised, and then introduced myself.

"Hey, I've heard of you, too." The man said, a puzzled look on his face. Mine probably looked the same.

"How?"

"Guy named Reeve Tuesti mentioned you in passing. Ever heard of him?" I realized Reeve had probably talked about me a little when he asked the Shinra about the information we needed. Reno had probably been present.

"Yeah, I'm a friend of his too."

The man grinned and I noticed we were both walking again, his arm over my shoulders. "But not that _kind_ of friend."

Smiling, I nodded. "Right."

There was an awkward silence for a moment. "So... I guess that means you know where I'm from."

Blinking, Reno shook his head. "Uh, should I?" That surprised me. Either Reno hadn't paid that much attention, or Reeve hadn't told Shinra.

"Well, uh, I figured you'd know because it was why Reeve went to talk to your boss." I began to explain how I was from a different world and I was desperately trying to get back home. "That's why we were looking for that book. We thought it might help."

"Man, that bites, yo!" The Turk exclaimed. "Did you find anything?"

"Reeve told me Shinra didn't know anything." A determined look came over Reno's face, and his hand moved from my shoulders to take mine.

"Reno, what -?"

The man turned us around and started racing down the street, dragging me alone. "Come on!" He said, grinning like a child. I had a bad feeling suddenly...

"Where are we going?" Boy did I hate running, especially running and talking. Reno glanced over his shoulder and grinned at me.

"To Shinra!" He state. "I'm gonna get you some help!"

I gulped nervously. Reno's help... I wasn't so sure that was a good thing. Yup. I definitely had a bad feeling.

0-0-0

The new Shinra building in Edge was infinitesimally smaller than the original had been, which didn't surprise me one bit. What did surprise me was the amount of people who did work in the building. Ever floor was full. After all that time, what could Shinra be up to? They surely weren't an electrical company anymore. Being inside the building, even with Reno who was relatively nicer than the other Shinra employees, made me very nervous.

We walked through the large, open front room, past the front desk and the bored, blonde secretary, to the end of the hall where an elevator was. Once it appeared, Reno and I went in alone and he pushed the fifth floor button. The man was acting like a giddy child, and once the door slid open, he dragged me out into a wide hallway with only a few office doors, and one big double door at the end. My stomach leapt into my throat.

Somehow Reno had enough self control to pause outside and knock. A moment later, a commanding voice said, "Enter."

Grinning at me, Reno opened the door and we entered the room, and I found myself in front of Rufus Shinra's desk.

I've never felt so cold in my entire life. Just looking at him sent chills down my spine. It wasn't as if he was glaring at me or even looking my way, it was just his stance, his demeanor, the total lack of warmth in the room. Once he did look at me, I shivered again. His eyes were glaciers. Had I stepped into a freezer? The look on Mr. Shinra's face told me that I wasn't wanted.

"Hey, boss!" Reno chimed happily. Did he not sense the great chill that I did? Maybe he was immune. The man kept talking, probably explaining my story and who I was, but I wasn't listening. I was busy imagining warm beaches, the Sahara desert, global warming, anything to get rid of the soul cutting icy stare that Rufus Shinra had trained on me. it wasn't working. _Mental exercise to imagine warmth, Miss! The Shinra Blizzard Beam, 9000 damage! _Anyone have a Phoenix Down?

Eventually, I decided that paying attention would probably be a good idea.

"... come on! Why not?" The red head sounded a little put off, and Rufus was now glaring at him instead of me. What a relief!

"This text she is looking for is no ordinary book." The company head stated. "It is not worth the risk to countless lives to help one person." How ironic; since Shinra had always put its own wants and needs before everyone else's. I think my dislike showed on my face because Rufus returned the look.

"But - that's not -" I couldn't believe Reno was sticking up for me. He was a swell guy, really sweet, but he was probably risking his neck here, irritating Shinra. Not that he didn't do that everyday, most likely. But I was touched that he was fighting with his boss over me.

"Reno, that is classified, top secret information and if I find anyone has seen it, anyone at all..." The man stood, his eyes narrowing. "I won't be pleased."

The Turk net to me looked like a kicked puppy, and I actually felt worse for him than I did for not getting the info. A fiery angry bloomed in my heart, and hey! I finally felt warm.

So I turned to Rufus and glared with my best stone cold stare. "Thank you for listening. I won't bother you again." Then I grabbed Reno's elbow, and despite his eloquent protests ("H-Hey! Wait, I'm not - I'm gonna - wait a minute!"), dragged him from the room.

"Man this sucks!" the man pouted once we were out of the office, hand on his head. I was a little confused.

"Why do you care so much?" I asked as we stepped towards the elevator, passing a few other employees headed towards Rufus, who I hoped fell out a window and ended up actually needing a wheelchair.

He shrugged, hands in his pockets. "Hate to see a pretty girl in trouble." We stepped into the elevator and Reno hit the button.

I rolled my eyes but couldn't keep a grin off my face. In the game, I'd always like Reno best, but I liked him even more now.

"Thanks for trying." Reno smirked at me as the doors to the elevator began to slide open.

The room outside was small, dark, and full of cabinets, only lit by the light of one old computer in the back corner.

"Damn it!" Reno stepped towards the button panel. "I always hit the wrong button..."

Many things clicked in my mind at once, and my heart hammered in my chest. IN three seconds I evaluated my chances, the risks, and made a decision.

Grabbing the back of Reno's hair, I threw all my weight against him and heard his face slam into the metal panel hard. I immediately felt bad, but just in case it wasn't enough, I pulled back and did it again.

The doors were sliding closed, but I reached out and struck my arm between them; they slid back. Reno was slumped in my arms, groaning a little, and for a second I got worried. But he stayed unconscious. Putting my arms around his skinny waist, I carried him into the dark room.

Adrenaline rushed through my veins as I set Reno against a well and kneeled to look at him. There was blood coming out of his nose, and he'd probably have a big bruise. I couldn't count on him being out for long, so I rushed to the computer.

Luckily my guess had been correct; the computer was a catalog of all the records in the room. I clicked on the search bar and typed in "other worlds". Generic yes, but it was a place to start.

"Come on... come on..." The compute rwas really slow. Finally a few things popped up. I scanned them. "No... no... maybe?" I clicked on something and looked up its location. "The Tome of Ancient Worldly Rites". Third drawer of cabinet "F", under "Ancients". No wonder the info was top secret, if it was in the same folder as the Ancients. I found the right cabinet and went to the third drawer, flipping through the files. "Holy shit!" The file on the Ancients was huge, at least three inches thick! No surprise there.

Carefully, I pulled it out and set it on the ground, flipping through the pages as quick as I could. Luckily the folder had tabs inside: "Living Ancients", "JENOVA", "Gast's Research", "Hojo's Research" (I wasn't even going to go there), and "Texts". I immediately went to "Texts".

Eventually I found a typed page of info about the tome. I began reading it quickly.

_The Tome of the Ancients Worldly Rites, referred to as the Cetran Bible, was mentioned by many of the interrogated Cetra as a great source of power. Little else was said._

_Research revealed mentions of the Tome in Ancient temples and writings. Said to have in it written the most powerful Ancient spells, it was "cursed" by them so that none but they could use it._

It looked like I might have had the wrong thing, but I kept reading.

_The tome's location is unknown, though speculation places it near the location of the Key of the Ancients. The location of the key is also unknown._

A big grin came over my face. It was most certainly known; finding the key had been part of the game! I knew exactly where the book was! But I wasn't sure it was what I was looking for. I kept it in mind and continued reading.

One other thing that caught my eye was a page written about another Ancient book called "Mystery Text #7." Why did it catch my eye, I wondered. It read:

_Text found in the Ancient Temple; book was frayed and incomplete. Scans taken, originals in Shinra Research Facility Vault._

The scans were right behind the first typed page; I flipped it over to take a look. A feeling of accomplishment rushed through me once I did so. My eyes were wide and my mouth open in shock. Yes! A lead! A true lead! I grabbed the paper and removed it from the folder, which I slammed shut and stuffed back into the cabinet hastily. As I did, I hummed Final Fantasy's Victory Fanfare under my breath.

Papers in hand, I folded them smaller and held them tight. Then I turned to Reno.

He was still slumped against the floor. Surely somebody would find him. But I felt really guilty.

"Damn my good intentions..." I huffed. I couldn't just leave him there; he'd done his best to help me. So, sighing, I tucked my arms around him, under his shoulders. Luckily he was a really light guy. I carried him to the elevator, waited for the door to open and then set him on the ground inside it.

Then I pushed the elevator button, and jumped out, leaving Reno inside. I hoped he'd go up at least a few levels before he was discovered, or my job would be a lot harder. once the door shut and he was safely inside, I moved past the elevator to the stairs, my information clenched tight in my hand.

My heart had never beat so fast before, and thousands of worries were rushing through my head; "What if they find me? What will they do? What if I can't find my way out?" I hurried up the stairs two at a time before I finally found a door.

I paused and glanced through the small window on it. It led to a hallway; a woman walked by and I ducked. Once her shadow had passed, I glanced through and saw no one. Quietly I slipped through the door.

My hands were sweaty and shaking, and I looked really suspicious. I had to get out without being seen. But which way? I had no idea where to go! Was I even on the first floor?

I found the elevator and saw the metal plate beside it said "3". Should I risk getting trapped inside it? I decided no and kept moving. I had to find another stairwell!

My nerves were driving me insane; I saw a person at the end of the hall and almost jumped. Instead, I folded the papers so the front couldn't be seen, and kept walking.

As he came closer, I came to an abrupt decision, which I knew was risky. But so far "risky" had worked for me.

"Uh, um - excuse me?" I asked the man quietly, playing up the shyness. The man paused, looking at me, and looked a little confused, but also concerned. _Score! Sucker! _ "I - I don't work here, I uh, came with this guy, red hair, I think his name was, uh, Raymond?"

"Reno." The man rolled his eyes, and I nodded vigorously.

"Right! Well, I got what I came here for, but he left me and I can't find my way out, I'm so lost -" I glanced around like I was scared or nervous, which I certainly was, so it wasn't hard to act. His look softened and I grinned inwardly. _I really hope this doesn't get you fired buddy!_

"Guy's a jerk. If you're looking for the front door, go down this hall, take a left, and go down the stairs. The front lobby will be at the bottom."

I let a relieved sigh escape me and grinned big. "Oh thank you!" I waved as I ran, trying to look enthusiastic, instead of "scared out of my mind and running for my life".

Once I was out of sight, I went faster, and raced to the door, down the stairwell.

Down the stairs I went, hand on the railing, my chest heaving hard. Finally I saw the door! Outside the window, I could see the lobby, but I stayed low and waited to catch my breath. Was I really going to just walk out the front door? It seemed too easy...

Suddenly one of the doors above me slammed against the wall and I gasped, glancing up. It was Reno pounding down the stairs from the sixth level up!

Fright rushed through me, and I quickly folded the papers up tight and slipped them into my bra to hide them. No more time for breathing, just running. I shoved the door open and raced into the lobby, and was almost out the front door when Reno entered the room.

"Stop her!" He shouted, but too late; I had already ducked under the guards and raced out the door.

But I was out of the fire and into the frying pan; how to get to the Seventh Heaven from there? I just started running or my life and decided to worry about it later.

I heard footsteps pounding against the ground behind me and I ran faster. Reno was the only one chasing me, but he was definitely faster than me. Plus, I felt my legs burning. I really wasn't in shape.

 Turning a corner, I tried dodging around a few trash cans, but I wasn't able to; someone grabbed the back of my shirt and I fell back, tripping even as I struggled to get away. Next I knew we were both leaning against the brick wall nearby, struggling to defeat one another.

"Let go, Reno!" I pleaded as I fought. "Please!"

"Reno!"

Both our heads snapped around and I felt a strange mix of happiness and fear at the sight of Reno's other half, Rude. He was in dark jeans and a big black jacket, a black hat over his head. And of course, even in snow he wore his trademark sunglasses. "What are you doing, Reno?"

"Rude! Here! The girl -" Reno pointed to me but he was cut off.

"Just because it's your day off doesn't mean you can assault girls in the street." Reno's face was about the color of his hair.

"No! That's not it! I'm not!" He put his arm around me and pulled me over to Rude, and I didn't struggle so Rude wouldn't think I really had a secret. I had a feeling Reno was digging his own grave, so I sat back and let him. "She stole secret information from Shinra!"

Rude glanced from Reno to me, then back. "Really?"

"Yeah!"

The bald man sighed. "And that's why you're trying to stick your hand down her shirt?" He asked. Reno nodded vigorously.

"Yeah, cause it's - it's in her bra!" He pointed at me. It was out of his mouth before the red head realized how stupid it sounded.

Glancing over his glasses, Rude looked at me. "Uh, huh."

"Really!" Frantic, Reno turned back to me. "I'm not kidding! Look!" He turned to grab for it again and I dodged away each time. It looked like he was grasping for my boobs. "It's there! Secret -" He lunged, I ducked, "Information - in her - bra!" He almost grabbed my collar but I ducked and raced around his legs, moving behind Rude as if for protection. I actually felt kind of sorry for him.

"Give it up Reno." Rude shook his head and kept walking even as Reno turned and called after him.

"Hey, Rude! Wait!" The man shouted and waved his arms about. "I'm not joking! Really!"

Poor Reno flailed his arms with the face of a dejected pet, pouting and giving up with a sigh. Meanwhile, I was having a heart attack. At least it felt like one. Did I mention I hate running?

I slid to the ground next to the wall, though I knew I should have run away. I didn't have the strength for it. When he turned around, Reno saw me and paused, a frown on his face. After a moment he let out a dark sigh and rubbed his temples, before moving towards me and sitting against the wall with me.

"I'm sorry." I began, trying to calm my breathing. "Sorry about your head."

The man chuckled a little. "Sorry bout chasing you. And the - bra thing." We both laughed a little and I sighed.

"It's your job." I told him, reaching into my shirt. I pulled out the papers, blushing a little. He smirked at me. "What? It was the safest place I could think of!"

"Right." The man smirked again. I ignored him and unfolded the papers.

"Look." I whispered, unfolding it. "This is all I took. They're scans of the originals, which your people still have. I don't have the real ones. No one would miss them, they're nothing." I told him. Reno looked over them as I flipped the pages to show them.

"They don't look like much. What are they?" I smiled bright, and looked back down.

"They're photos... of my home. My world. I know without a doubt they are. See..." I flipped back to the first page and began to explain.

"This is the capital, my country's capital, where our president lives. And this -" I flipped a page. "That's the Eiffel Tower, in Paris -" I kept explaining more and more pictures, there were about fifteen of them. "This is our planet, from outer space. This was the first picture ever taken of it. I have no idea how these pictures made it to your world, into this Ancient, magic book, but they are." I looked up at Reno with hopeful eyes. "These could be so important. These images - they might mean something. I need them, please."

Reno was still looking at the pictures, not totally in awe, but surprised. "This - these pictures are of another world?" He looked at me and I nodded. Reno flipped to the last one of the planet. "A different world... huh."

I held the edge of the page tight. "Please. No one will miss them." I waited a minute, and then frantically tried to convince him. "These are just scans, like I said, Shinra has the originals -"

"All right, all right!" The man sighed, turning a smirk my way. "Keep twistin' my arm, it's gonna break." Slowly, he helped me to my feet, and I grinned at him as he swung his arm around my shoulder. I couldn't believe it! Oh, Reno was the best!

"I can keep them?" Joy rushed to my head and I leapt on him, squeezing him tight and ignoring his complaints. "Oh, thank you, thank you! And I really am sorry about your face."

"You'd better be!" We both laughed a little, and I clutched the papers to me tightly. I had to get home and put them someplace safe. Not to mention, my friends needed to see them.

"Oh, I can't wait to show Cloud and them! We've finally got a lead!" Reno let me go and I jumped for joy, cheering. Reno chuckled and smirked at me.

"Yeah... wish I could see it." Confused, I glanced at him. Reno shrugged. "Y'know... explaining to Cloud Strife and the rest of Avalanche how you snuck into Shinra headquarters, assaulted a member of the Turks, stole secret information that Rufus Shinra himself would kill to keep secret, and just barely escaped capture at the hands of said Turk." If possible, his smirk grew wider. "Just thinkin' of the looks on their faces when they find out you went into Shinra alone... and didn't even tell them!" Reno grinned at the horrified look on my face.

Well, shit.


	5. Shopping

"You WHAT!?"

I touched my ears gingerly, almost expecting to feel blood. But no, my hearing hadn't been destroyed by Cloud and Tifa's shocked, angry yelling. I almost wished it had so I wouldn't have to suffer the lecture that I knew was coming.

"It was a spur of the moment thing." I explained frantically. Maybe if I convinced them quickly of ... well... the importance of what I'd done, I wouldn't have to sit and listen to two people almost seven years younger than me treat me like their little sister. "I had my chance and I took it."

"And you're damn lucky you didn't get arrested, or hurt! Or worse!" Being the motherly type, Tifa took it worse than Cloud. She was flustered, hands on her hips, pacing restlessly around the kitchen. Luckily bar hours were over, so we were alone.

"You should have contacted someone." Cloud told me; he was acting slightly calm, though I saw a glint of fire in his eyes. Which was scarier: an obviously pissed off Tifa, or a quietly simmering Cloud Strife? I didn't want to find out.

"I didn't have the time. It was either do or don't." I sighed, shrugged, and then held up the papers I'd stolen from Shinra. "But we've finally got a concrete lead! Finally!"

"Didn't you trust us to help? To find something?" Tifa accused me, which I knew was coming. To my surprise, I didn't have to defend myself.

"We weren't exactly finding anything." Cloud muttered. "If what she found is really a lead..." He wasn't allowed to continue.

"If Shinra finds out you took this, there'll be hell to pay!" Tifa grabbed the papers and a rush of panic went through me

"Nobody will find out! They were in the basement in one of twenty cabinets in a folder this thick!" I held my hands wide apart. "There's no way!"

Frustrated, Tifa glanced at Cloud. The woman scoffed and threw her hands up in submission, and then tossed the papers back to me. I took them and moved towards the table to sit with Cloud. He seemed to understand better.

"Look!" I placed the papers down on the table, beginning to flip through them to show Cloud the images. He seemed slightly impressed by how much I knew about them, as if they really were from my home world, which I knew he had a little trouble believing. I think I was starting to convince him as I described each image and what it was.

"And they're all from your world? Each one?" I nodded vigorously to answer his question. Cloud took the papers and began reading through them, sitting at the kitchen table.

Tifa was cooking again, making nice with a dark grimace on her face. Cloud kept looking at the images, reading the small paragraph on the first page. "She's right. This is big. The best lead we've got so far." My heart soared, until Tifa spun around.

"So you don't care that Rufus Shinra almost got his hands on her!" The woman roared, pointing the wooden spoon at me. Cloud let out a sigh and set the papers down.

"Of course I do, but like she said, she had a chance and she took it. Everything worked out."

"Ugh!" Tifa spun towards me, gesturing violently with the spoon. At any other time it would've been funny to watch the food debris fly off the utensil all over the kitchen. "You can't just go gallavanting off into danger! You don't even know how to fight!"

"I know that." Damn, but she was pissing me off. I knew she cared, but Tifa needed to lighten up. "I may not act like it all the time, but I'm a grown woman, not a child, Tifa, I'm older than you. I know I took a big risk, but it paid off." Both of us glared darkly like the stubborn, hard headed women we were.

Tifa sighed. She was still angry, but resigned. She finally turned back to the cooking. A big smile came over my face and I turned to Cloud to talk again, almost not hearing her mumbled words.

"If Vincent were here, he'd agree with me." I glanced back up at her, and rolled my eyes. Let it go, Tifa! "You do realize there are still sickos like Hojo in Shinra."

This confused me; how was it relevant? Cloud looked very serious as he told Tifa, "Don't. There's no need."

The woman spun around, her face like a tiger. "No need? Maybe if she knew she wouldn't of tried this stunt!"

Irritated, confused, and tired of being yelled at, I spat, "Knew what!?"

A hand came to my shoulder, and Cloud sighed. I turned back to him, and calmed down. An image of my brother came to mind, and I felt a little better thinking of him, and home. "You are from another world. Something other than the lifestream keeps you alive." I thought this through as Cloud kept explaining. "You're different from every other being on Gaia."

"Imagine what a bastard like Hojo would do if they got ahold of you." Tifa finished quietly. Her anger was still there, but it was simmering down. It didn't matter; she'd made her point.

A sick cold chill traveled down my spine as my head replayed every terrible scene of Hojo's madness and violence in my head.

Oh. Oh, god.

"Exactly." Tifa saw the horrified look on my face and was satisfied that she'd gotten through to me. "And you walked right into Shinra and told them exactly who you are. Anybody could have heard. And Rufus isn't quite the most trustworthy person anyway."

My knees were weak and luckily I was sitting down. Damn it. I hadn't thought of that at all! To a twisted psycho like Hojo, I was prime specimen material! And Shinra attracted all sorts of weirdo scientists. Another sick thought ran through me when I realized what Tifa had meant about Vincent siding with her.

"Vincent's gonna freak when he finds out what I did." I muttered.

"Yep." And Tifa sounded a little pleased about that. Guess she thought I deserved it.

Still despite Tifa's disapproval and Vincent's imminent rage we finally had a lead. I'd just have to be very careful in the future. If I lived that long.

0-0-0

Luckily for me, Vincent didn't return home that night. I would've been worried if A) I hadn't known that Vincent always disappeared with no trace, and B) I really, really didn't want him to come home. Well, come home yet. Sure I was dragging out the agony but I was trying to think of the best way to explain why I had entered Shinra with a Turk without anyone else's knowledge. Thinking back, it had been really, really stupid. But... Reno was just so nice, so disarming, I didn't even think of him as a Turk, but as a friend. Then again, it was his day off.

But as I worked in the bar, handing out food and drinks, I began thinking about it. What if it was all a ploy? False information that Reno had been ordered to give me? But even as I thought that I could think of no reason why they would do that.

Besides that, some instinct in me told me to trust Reno. Maybe it was coming from another world; I knew Reno wasn't really a bad guy. He was a Turk, first and foremost, so I'd have to be careful, but he had risked his hide for me. I trusted him, and I'd somehow have to explain that to Vincent too.

For the most part, I spent a week busying myself around the bar and worrying about how I would explain my behavior to Vincent. Eventually I didn't even care if he killed me, I was just going insane waiting for him to show up! Maybe he knew already, and he was torturing me on purpose. But somehow that didn't seem like his style.

Not to mention that Tifa hadn't really forgiven me yet. She gave me the cold shoulder even when we were working together. Most times I tried staying upstairs, or outside with the kids, avoiding the angry brunette at all costs. Cloud seemed to take pity on me, perhaps understanding my desperation to go home and my reasoning behind what I'd done. I spent a good deal of time that week getting to know him better.

"I've been eyeing that bike of yours with a little envy." I admitted one night. The two of us were sitting on the back porch, watching the city and the setting sun over the high towers.

"Fenrir?" Cloud smirked at me, then looked back out over the horizon. "Many people cast jealous eyes over it." I smirked back at him.

"Proud?" I asked, a little haughtiness in my voice. The blonde chuckled, and shrugged.

"Maybe." He and I chuckled a little.

"Where'd you get it?" I asked. I had a suspicion where, but I waited for his answer.

"Custom made." He explained. I pushed him a little.

"Did Cid make it?"

He turned to me, a little alarm on his face, but then I realized he probably didn't know I'd helped him and Cid get together. I smiled and shook my head. "I know you and Cid..." I didn't finish, just looked at him with a smirk on my face.

Cloud rolled his eyes a light flush on his cheeks. "This was before that. But I guess..." He sighed. "I just didn't accept my feelings then. He and I worked on Fenrir together."

I smiled. "Got to know each other better? More... intimately?"

Cloud saw the devious look on my face and once again rolled his eyes, though I saw a smirk on his lips. "There was one accident."

"Really?" My face lit up. Somehow, despite everything, I was really curious. My inner boy love fangirl was rearing her ugly head, ignoring the fact that one of the men in the relationship had been my once crush, the other like a brother to me.

Cloud looked a little nervous and shy, but he began the story. "I was working under the bike, lying down on one of those boards with wheels. Cid was working on something else nearby, and he didn't..." The man smirked and a little mirth showed in his eyes. "He didn't know I had my music player on. I couldn't hear him calling my name. Then suddenly I felt this hand on my ankle and he pulled me out from under Fenrir, but he pulled too hard..." Now he was really holding back laughter, and I felt the same happy feeling. I thought I knew where the story was going. "The board knocked him down and he fell half on top of me, and he broke the board!"

We both burst into laughter. "Seriously!?" I grinned at his cute blush. "What happened next?"

Somehow the blush got worse and Cloud glanced away. "Well... it was rather awkward for both of us. Looking back, we both must have been shocked and trying to keep the other from knowing..." He shrugged.

"Knowing about your feelings?" He nodded, and I giggled again. "I'm sorry, but that's hilarious. How did Cid react?"

A snort escaped the blonde. "After a minute he leapt up screeching about my damn hearing and what he was going to do to my me and my walkman."

I shook my head. "Love at first sight, I bet." Cloud rolled his eyes but didn't disagree.

Tifa did forgive me, eventually, but I (sadly) managed to quickly do something else that set her off. It seemed that she was destined to always be the pissed off mother/sister figure...

It started the weekend before Christmas when I received a phone call from an unexpected, but not unwelcome, source. I was the only one in the bar, as Cloud and Tifa had taken the kids out for Christmas shopping.

The phone rang and I hurried from the bathroom to get it. Just before the recording started I picked it up. "Seventh Heaven Bar and Strife Delivery Service, how may I help you?"

A chuckle came from the line. "Well, you could tell me if you're free next Saturday."

 A dry smirk came to my lips. "Hey, Reno." He seemed pleased that I recognized him.

"How are ya?" He asked. "Still alive?" Chuckling, I leaned against the counter and rolled my eyes.

"Barely. But not for long."

"Why's that?" I explained how my escapade into Shinra was still a secret to Vincent, and that I was awaiting the day that he returned and found out. "Ouch." Reno was empathetic; I supposed he knew all about getting into trouble with overprotective friends. Elena and Tseng seemed to fit that bill. "I guess it's a bad time to invite you back to Shinra, huh?"

Confused, I fell silent. "Invite me? To what?"

"Next Saturday, Shinra's having their yearly Christmas party." The red head explained. "And I'm in need of a pretty date."

Despite myself I blushed. "Sounds like fun."

Reno's mood seemed to lift. "You'll come? Won't that piss your friends off?"

"They're my friends, not my parents. They'll forgive me." I told him. "So, is this formal?"

"Yup." He was positively chipper, and I felt about the same; my stomach was doing backflips. "You got something nice to wear?"

"I'll find something." A big grin came over my face.

My date explained the time and when he'd pick me up, and then we said our goodbyes.

"I'll see you then, Reno." I smiled, and he was laughing happily.

"See you, yo!"

As soon as I set the phone back, I cheered and danced around the office, a new skip in my step. A date! A fancy date! I hadn't been on one of those in ages. My boyfriend from Earth had been a cheapskate. Why hadn't I dumped him before the planetary travel thing?

Sure, Reno wasn't exactly my first choice for a date. But he certainly wasn't last either. Not only was he a great guy, funny, and good looking, he was a sweetheart and a friend. Thousands of girls back on Earth would kill to be in my shoes. Hell, even I would have, and Reno wasn't really my favorite.

But seeing as Cid was gay and Vincent would soon be out for my blood, those two were currently out of the question. So if I wanted to go on a date, then Reno had to be my guy. Red heads are cute, anyway.

-=-=-

I argued with myself about whether or not to tell Cloud and the others about my date. But since I was already in deep trouble, I figured keeping secrets would come back to haunt me.

"I don't like this." Tifa immediately muttered. I knew that was coming.

"Reno's not a bad guy, but Shinra..." Cloud sighed. "It's always dangerous, especially for someone 'unique' like you."

"The word you're looking for is 'batfuck nuts'." I corrected, and Cloud smirked.

"That's two words." We shared a laugh before Tifa's angry glare silenced us.

 "All of Shinra will be there, every employee from every department!" Tifa pointed out, hands on her hips. "All those creepy scientists who'd love to get their hands on you."

"Maybe they won't want to party, so they'll stay home in their mother's basements." I offered. Tifa wasn't amused. She huffed and crossed her arms.

"Tifa's right. Some real creeps will be there. You'll have to be careful." Cloud told me, though he seemed only slightly concerned. The glare Tifa sent his way told me she didn't feel the same.

But, she gave in, and frustratedly "allowed" me to go. I understood her concern, but like a teenager sneaking out of the house despite the risk, I was still going to the party. It promised to be a lot of fun.

-=-=-

To show her disapproval of my going to the party, Tifa wouldn't lend me a dress. And since my funds were very low, and Yuffie was no where near my size, I was in trouble. Reno might not mind if I went naked, but I would be severely embarrassed. I really, really needed to find a dress to wear. So, I called the one person who might be able to help me.

"Who's this?"

"Uh, hi! Cid, it's me." I smiled hearing his sleepy, gruff voice. I guessed I'd woken him up, and I felt kinda bad.

"Oh, Hey. Why're you callin' so early?" If I could do the anime sweatdrop, I would've then.

"It's one o clock in the afternoon, Cid."

"... oh."

"_... who's on the phone?"_

I could tell Cid had turned from the phone to talk to someone else. "It's 'Manda. Go back to sleep, hun." Immediately I smiled and giggled when I realized that the other person was Cloud, and that he and Cid had both been asleep. Images of the blondes cuddling ran through my head. Aww!

"Sorry to wake you up. I didn't know you slept in so late."

"Don't, usually, but uh... I was uh... busy yesterday."

Ooooh. I got it. Grinning, I decided to let it slide instead of making fun of the young lovers, since I was trying to ask for a favor.

"I see. Well, I'm calling to collect that favor you promised."

"Oh yeah. What can I do yer for?"

Quickly explaining how I had met Reno (which was interrupted and punctuated by angry cursing from Cid), I then told him of my upcoming date and my plight with my wardrobe. To my surprise we didn't linger on my Shinra mistake for very long. Cid seemed to understand why I took the risk and was only pissed that I'd almost gotten hurt. I was touched, but also had to shove down the butterflies in my stomach.

"So why're you callin' me fer that?" He asked. I supposed it was weird to call Cid for clothing.

"Well, don't you live with a woman named Shera?" I asked. I had always liked Shera in the game, though she showed up very little, but I wasn't sure where she had gone afterwards. I hoped she was still living with Cid. "I thought I might be able to borrow something from her."

"Fuck that!" Surprised, I jumped at Cid's angry retort.

"W - What? Why?" I was actually a little angry; Cid had been my only hope.

"That woman has no sense of style, doesn't wear nothin' without that white jacket. Naw, nothin' good in her closet." He grunted, and fell quiet for a moment. I could hear Cloud and Cid muttering quietly. Then he talked to me again. "I'll be in Edge in a jiff, a'right? Wait fer me!"

Then the phone clicked off.

I had never been so confused in my life.

-=-=-

An hour later the doorbell rang, but before I could reach it the door opened and a familiar blonde walked in. He looked just as rough and gruff as usual.

"Yo" I said before I thought about it, and then I rolled my eyes. I was even_ talking_ like him. Luckily Cid either didn't notice or care because he didn't say anything.

"Hey, you ready?" I blinked.

"Ready for what?"

Cid rolled his eyes and stepped forward, grabbing my arm and pulling me towards the door. "To get yer dress! Come on!"

I did a double take. "Wait, what? Cid, where are we going?"

Cloud was waiting outside on Fenrir, and smiled when I came into view. "Cloud, do you have any idea what your boyfriend's dragging me into?"

The blonde's smile became a rare grin. "Clothes shopping. I'm sorry, he can be a real handful sometimes."

"You would know." Cid winked, and Cloud's face became three shades darker. I was still lost in the idea of shopping for clothes with Cloud and Cid. I knew they were gay, but still...

"I don't have any money, and... you guys are... guys. I know gay people are supposedly all about style and whatever... but I don't think Cloud's that 'fabulous'," Cloud smirked, "And I KNOW you aren't, Cid."

"Get on the bike." Cid put his hands on his hips and demanded it. So, still confused, I followed his order. Stepping towards Fenrir, I realized my dream of riding it was about to come true! Uh... wait...

"Who sits where?" I gawked. Fenrir was big, sure, but there was me, and two big guys.

"Girls in the middle." Cid demanded, shoving me forward.

"Play nice." His boyfriend demanded. Cid just grinned.

So, against my better judgement, I threw my leg over and wrapped my arms around Cloud's waist. I have to admit, I was really excited to be riding Fenrir. But then Cid got on behind me, and my excitement died and was reborn as awkward butterflies in my stomach. Scratch that; it felt more like the WEAPONS were flying around inside of me, causing emotional havoc. He was RIGHT THERE, body to body, right behind me! I could feel him, smell him even! My mother was right when she told me that smoking was a bad habit, but a really sexy one. Cid smelled gorgeous.

He didn't wrap his arms around my waist (too cool I suppose), but he did set his hands on my hips. Great, Cid. Just make me more attracted to you and uncomfortable in this situation. I did mention he had large, calloused hands that felt warm and nice to touch?

_Cid is Cloud's, Cid is gay, Cid is Cloud's, Cid is gay..._

And before I knew it, we were off, and I squeaked and leaned into Cloud's back. Both men chuckled, I could hear it, and Cid suddenly leaned forward against me. I could feel his chest on my back, and his breath on my ear.

"First time?" He asked.

My mind died. No thoughts occurred. Nope, nothing at all, nada.

"Amanda?"

"Uh, oh... um..." Luckily Cid took my reaction as fear rather than something else. He squeezed my hip reassuringly, and that did not help.

"Don't worry. Bikes are safe, 'specially when Cloud's drivin'. You'll be fine."

Uh huh. Suuure. I will be as soon as you let me go and stop being so goddamn sexy!

We could not arrive at the store soon enough. Finally we did, and Cloud shut the bike off. I leapt off Fenrir like I was in a Diehard movie and the vehicle was about to explode. Both Cid and Cloud stared.

"I thought you wanted to ride it." Cloud asked. Nodding, I decided to use fear as my cover up.

"Yeah, just... didn't know it went so fast..." Seeing and talking to Cloud helped me calm down and remember that Cid was _totally _out of bounds. My heart started to slow back down and the color began leaving my cheeks. Both Cid and Cloud seemed kinda worried. "I'm fine, really."

"All right. Maybe you should use the train to get home." Cloud said as Cid got off. But the other blonde remained on the bike.

"Aren't you coming too?" I asked fearfully. _Don't leave me, Cloud, not a good idea Cloud, do_** not**_ leave me alone with your boyfriend, Cloud!_

The spiky haired one nodded and my heart plummeted. "Got some more deliveries to make. I'll be around for dinner." He promised. He and Cid had their romantic goodbye and then Cloud was off, Fenrir roaring in the distance.

"Ya comin'?" Cid was already at the doors to the store, while I stared helplessly after Cloud and Fenrir.

 Self control, don't fail me now.

-=-=-

As it turns out, all gay people have fashion sense. Even the ones that aren't fabulous.

"Crap. Crap. Crap. Shitload a' crap." Cid kept tossing my choices back at me, and I had to hussle to catch them all. I felt like I was performing a balancing act. Every dress I picked out had some problem with it, but usually Cid wouldn't elaborate. It was either, "... eh, you could do better," or "Crap", or "Shitload a' crap", or "Damn! Hang on to this one!" So far, only two of the latter had come up.

The first dress Cid had liked was a light blue one which shimmered slightly. It was a v - neck that tied around the neck and went to my knees, and it was slightly longer on the right side.

The second was the little black cocktail dress so infamous in movies and songs. It wasn't my favorite, but Cid told me to hang on to it, so I did.

"What the hell's wrong with you? Your mother buy you shit like this?" Cid asked as he frowned at a flowery brown printed dress I had picked. Pouting, I stuck my tongue out at him.

"My mother's a great woman with fantastic taste! A little on the kooky side, but who isn't?" I shrugged. He threw the brown print at me and it fell over my head. As I struggled to remove it Cid began looking through more clothing.

"Kooky? Like what?" I chuckled a little; how to explain my mother?

"Well... she's seventeen at heart, but she's three times that age." Tired of lugging around the "no's" I dumped them all in a chair for someone else to deal with. "She's super dyslexic, ADHD, and she's Irish."

Cid glanced over his shoulder. "Irish? What the hell's that?"

My eyes went wide. Oh, duh. Chuckling, I shook my head at my own mistake. "Oops... I uh, I guess..." My smile faded a little. "I guess that's something only someone from home would get."

Cid's eyes went wide, and he glanced away. "Huh. Well ya still haven't told me what it is." He kept looking through clothes.

I figured since my taste was bad according to Cid, I'd sit down and let him look. So I sat on the floor next to the chair full of clothes. "Well, Ireland is a country back where I come from. You know, like how in this world there's the island Wutai, way out there?"

"Yeah."

"Where I come from, Ireland is an island where the people have a reputation of being rowdy, fun loving, stubborn people. But a while back Ireland became a hard place to live in, so people began leaving and moving to a place called America." Talking about home actually made me feel really good, not bad. "That's where I'm from. America was the best place in the world, the land of opprotunity. Many Irish people moved there and stayed. Generations later, we have a race of people descended from the Irish who are Americans. Like my mom and me."

"When I say somebody's Irish like, that usually means they're hard headed, easily angered, love to drink, and a big partier."

"Damn. Your mom sounds like me." Cid laughed. On the other hand, I fumbled and gawked at him.

"God damn it... she kinda does." I had to laugh too, even though the image of my mom as Cid, or Cid as my mom was a horrible mind fuck.

"You don't sound too much like that, though." Cid picked up a green dress and turned towards me, as if imagining what I might look like in it. Then he muttered, "Crap", and put it back. "You're pretty level headed... but you are damn stubborn."

"Yeah, that's true. And I have a bad temper if you rile me up." I told him. For some reason that made him laugh.

"Really? Can't imagine that. You're like Cloud, pretty quiet and wrapped up in thinkin'." Me? Like Cloud? Now I was imagining myself as Cloud, but if my mom was Cid, then that was pretty fucked up. Big no no.

"Yeah, I get that from my dad. He's got a mean temper on him, everybody on his side of the family does. It's like part of our inheritance." I giggled, remembering my family that needs medication.

Cid, as he glanced between two dresses and compared them, smirked. "I feel bad for the fella you bring home, then." He chuckled.

A thought crossed my mind then. "Cid... what about you? What would your parents think? Of you and Cloud?"

He seemed taken by surprise by my question, and slowly returned the dresses to the rack. Then he turned towards me.

"Well... my dad hated gay shit. Prob'ly woulda beat me up or somethin'. Didn't ever suspect a thing though, back then. I dated plently of chicks." Cid put his hands in his pockets and looked around at the carpet.

"So, you like both?" He looked up and nodded.

"Yeah..."

"Me too." I said quickly. I glanced away before I could gage his response. I suppose its silly to fear rejection for being bi from a person who is bi, but... how the mind works.

"Really?" He seemed surprised more than anything. I risked a look and saw a smile. He understood my fear, because he'd felt it before.

"Yeah. I've always liked both."

"Uh huh." This made Cid cross his arms and smirk. "So, what's your type a' woman?" A big grin crossed my face as I imagined 'my type'.

"Easily, someone like Tifa." I grinned. Cid and I both shared a laugh.

"That's every man's type!"

I stood and swatted his shoulder. "I like more than her... assets!" He burst into laughter again and I hit him again. "I was just saying that I like a girl who's strong, y'know?"

He nodded. "I get it, I get it, lay off!" We were both smiling, and I felt a lot better than I had earlier. Cid held up the dresses he'd been holding; there were twelve now, I counted. "Time to play dress up." He grinned. I groaned.

I hated trying on clothes. But the muscular, hot, gay man would not let me go without trying all his picks on. I had to admit, he had really nice taste. And luckily, once I had the dress on, it didn't take him long to say either, "Fuck yes! That's perfect!" or "Shit! That one's out!"

In the end, we were down to three, and it was my pick. I chose the original blue shimmering dress, which I had found myself strangely attached too. Cid insisted on paying for it, against my will, but since I didn't have the money for the hefty price tag anyway, I had to let him pay.

After that, since it was still early, he dragged me to the shoe section. But he wasn't done there; apparently I just HAD to have a necklace and some earrings too. Poor Cid was going to go into debt for me. But we both had a blast, talking about my home and his and all sorts of other things. I felt I was becoming closer to him as a friend.

As we walked out of the store together I found it was a little more difficult to make small talk. The awkward feeling had come back with a vengeance. Glancing at him out of the corner of my eye, I wondered what he was thinking. Was he thinking of Cloud?

"Thanks for doing this, you really didn't have to." I said. He grunted.

"It was fun." He grinned at me. "But I don't do this often, so don't expect it in the future, a'right?" I giggled and nodded.

"I couldn't see you as the fabulous, clothes loving gay anyway." We both shared a chuckle at the image of Cid as a sort of hips swaying, lisping gay man.

Once out of the store, Cid led the way to the train station. I kept thinking about stuff, and suddenly a question came to me that I just had to ask.

"Oh! Hey, Cid!" I ran up to him and tugged on his sleeve. He glanced back at me. With my biggest, most innocent grin, I asked,

"So... who's on top?"

Cid blinked.

"Whut?"

"With you and Cloud. Who's on top?"

There was silence for a moment. Cid's face became redder than Genesis's hair.

"... WHAT THE FUCK, WOMAN!?"

-=-=-


	6. Party Time

The end of the week couldn't come quickly enough. Not only was Christmas right around the corner, but my date was approaching too, and I was very excited. To my surprise, and relief, Vincent still hadn't shown back up. He hadn't called at all either, which I supposed wasn't too surprising, but I felt a strange sense of foreboding. I had a bad feeling he was going to show up, and soon.

Until then I concentrated on working around the bar and getting ready for my date. Getting ready mostly was just me daydreaming about Saturday and staring at my dress. This usually ended badly though; it made me remember my time with Cid and all the awkward feelings that I'd felt. I'd had a great time, and gotten to know him better, but I had a feeling that getting to know him wasn't a good idea. I'd only end up getting hurt.

"How do I look?"

I heard a deep sigh as I turned around, and saw that Tifa still looked slightly disapproving, but she nodded. "Cid has nice taste." She got off the wall she'd been leaning against and walked over. "Who knew? I didn't take him for that sort of guy."

A sharp pain hit my stomach; I had forgotten that Tifa was still ignorant of Cid and Cloud not only being gay, but being together. In my heart I knew she needed to know, but Cid and Cloud couldn't tell her.

In truth... I was probably the best candidate for telling her. I mean, we were in the same boat; she liked Cloud, I liked Cid. But she was already acting really mad at me, I didn't want to be the bearer of more bad news. Not yet. So, I once again postponed telling the truth and just smiled.

"He's a strange one, huh?" She and I shared a small laugh that I didn't quite feel. But still, it was going to be a good night. It was finally Saturday, and time for the dance. Time to go on my date with Reno and forget all about my confusing feelings for Cid and my impending doom whenever Vincent came home.

I was also kinda nervous. All of Tifa's fear mongering was kinda getting to me; what if this was a big, stupid mistake on my part? Well, my pride wouldn't let me back down, plus, I really did want to go have a good time with Reno. And bailing now would break his heart.

So, that night I could be found on the first floor of the house, waiting in the bar for Reno to show. I'd already had one drink to calm my nerves, but I hadn't really finished it. I didn't much like alcohol unless I was trying to forget something. Bad habit of mine, I guess.

The door rang, and like a girl waiting for her prom date, I giggled and leapt up. "Please be him!" Then I raced to the door.

But I stopped. _Wait, you don't want to look too excited. Open the door slowly and smile._

So, that's what I did.

Soon as I saw who was at the door, my smile died.

There was a long, quiet pause. I didn't move.

 Vincent gave me a strange look. "... Are you going to let me in?"

It took another minute to convince my legs to move, but I did. My heart was hammering in my chest as I did so, and Vincent's eyes didn't leave me for a second. Even though he looked concerned, I didn't feel better. I was afraid he'd be able to see right into my mind and know exactly what I'd done.

He came in, and shut the door for me, as my hands were shaking and I was unable to do so myself. Now he seemed really concerned, and also confused about my style of dress. His eyes traveled over me and now I felt very nervous and self conscious. I tried saying something.

"Well uh, ... how do I look?" It came out kinda quiet and slurred, but at least I was talking. Vincent's eyes returned to my face.

"You... look nice." For some reason that didn't really make me feel any better. Actually, it kinda hurt a little for some reason. It just... didn't feel like a real compliment. It was just something to say. Vincent did seem a little out of sorts for some reason.

"Where have you been all this time?" I asked.

For a moment the man didn't speak. "Are you... going somewhere tonight?"

Suddenly I was hit with an image. I was still dressed nicely, sitting waiting at the bar. Then, Vincent walked in, hair pulled back, in a black suit with an actual smile on his face. He took me by the arm and we went out on a date together, eating a nice meal at some fancy place. Maybe afterwards we could dress up in warmer clothes and go ice skating somewhere. Or just sit inside with some hot cocoa and snuggle up. As long as we were together, it wouldn't matter.

My daydream shattered quick and I was beginning to realize I had made a bigger mistake than I had thought. "Oh, uh..." My voice was very strained and Vincent could tell, because he looked almost frightened. "I'm ... going on a date." I whispered.

Vincent turned away. "... I see."

We both fell quiet. It was awkward and it seemed neither of us wanted to make the first move. I wanted to leave, but was afraid of doing so. I was afraid he'd disappear, that I'd never see him again.

Footsteps came from the stairwell and Marlene entered the room. The little girl gasped at the of the tall man in red, running to him and hugging him tight round the leg.

"Vincent!" She grinned up at him with a disarming innocence. I took the chance to turn and walk out the door, shutting it behind me quickly.

My heart was racing in my chest as I turned and walked quickly down the sidewalk. I soon realized it would be best for me to remove my high heels, so I did so, holding them as I broke into a run.

I began counting in my head. 1... 2... 3... as I did I kept running, doing my best to remember the route I had taken from Shinra, trying to go back towards the building where the party would be. I ran even faster.

"**WHAT**!?" The loud, roar like scream actually hurt my ears. Whaddya know; it had taken 36 seconds for Vincent to find out what had happened. Suddenly I ran like my life depended on it, and in a way it did. I heard a loud bang and more shouting; Vincent was now out on the street, and after me.

I was in trouble.

-=-=-=-

Even if Vincent was not super powerful and gifted with the abilities of demons, his long legs could easily overtake mine. Not to mention that I had no true idea of where I was going; I was supposed to wait for Reno to pick me up.

But my pride made me continue to run even as I heard his boots click against the cement, getting dangerously close.

Then, an arm wrapped around my waist and I was suddenly hoisted into the air, off my feet; I dropped my heels and grabbed the appendage, trying to pry it off. When that didn't work, I struggled, and his other arm came around my upper chest. Though he looks thin and frail, his arms were like steel. I couldn't get them off!

Even though I'm stubborn, I knew when to quit. I was tired anyway, so I just settled down, and fell still again. After a moment, he set me on my feet, but didn't remove his arms.

"Were you going to tell me about your 'adventure'?" He murmured against my ear. It was malicious, the way he spoke, and actually made me shiver.

"Actually, I figured somebody else would say something." I admitted. I hadn't really wanted to tell him about it face to face. "I would've, I just... I was afraid you wouldn't let me leave tonight if I told you."

"You were right." Vincent told me. We both fell quiet for a moment. Neither of us really had anything to say. Eventually Vincent let me go and I turned around. Another shudder ran through me at the sight of him; his eyes were positively flaring. His rage was showing through. In a strange, sadistic way it was kind of a turn on. I'd never seen him so emotional before!

"I never took you for a fool." The man seethed. His words were so laced with malice that they really did hurt. I winced. It didn't bother him. "Shinra is no place to wander into mindlessly. You could've been hurt... badly. Do you have any idea what could've happened to you?" He frowned, his voice growing louder.

I nodded and avoided his eyes. "Cloud and Tifa enlightened me to that."

"Good." He sneered. Then, he reached out and took a surprising gentle hold of my wrist. "Let's go." I guessed that was that, to him at least, but I began to protest.

"Vincent, I -"

His head spun back around, eyes bright red, tinged with the yellow of Chaos. "**Don't. You aren't going anywhere near that building**." Was that a growl I heard? Sure enough, his fangs were showing over his pale lips, as he growled menacingly.

I heard the sound of Fenrir's engine, and a moment later the bike came into view nearby. It's owner pulled it to a stop and leapt off the bike, rushing towards us. Cloud, my savior! "Vincent!" I could tell he was concerned that the man might've lost it. "What's going on?"

The man blinked, and some of the rage left his eyes. He let go of my wrist and turned towards the blonde. They began talking as I let out a sigh of relief.

"Psst."

I hung my head, trying to think of a way out of my situation. Poor Reno... it looked like I was going to disappoint him.

"Pssst."

I had really been looking forward to the party... sure, I would've rather gone with Vincent, but since he was currently acting like a domineering demon, I wasn't going anywhere with him. Reno would've been a fun date anyway.

"PSSSST!"

Jumping, I turned around and saw, crouching behind a nearby trash can, was a familiar red head. Reno grinned at me and waved his hand to call me to him.

I glanced back; Vincent and Cloud were in a heated discussion. Neither of them were looking at me. Looking back at Reno, I saw him wink conspiratorially, and I smiled.

Well, if I was going to die tonight, I would die happy.

Slowly, I inched back towards Reno, further and further, as he slowly stood. He took my hand and led me behind the building, and once we were further away, we ran like there was no tomorrow, laughing the whole way.

-=-=-

"I left my shoes back there!"

"What does it matter?" Reno laughed, looking down at my poor red feet. The cement was not good for them. "You don't need high heels to look pretty." He winked at me, and I'll admit my face flushed a little.

"My feet hurt like hell is why it matters." I told him, grinning like an idiot. We were both breathing hard from running, but we now stood outside of the Shinra building, waiting in a line to get in. We were both still chuckling.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I'm so rude." Reno shook his head like he was admonishing himself, then suddenly wrapped an arm around my waist. I yelped when his other arm went under my knees and he picked me up.

"Reno!"

"What?" He asked innocently as I began laughing again.

"I can walk!" He ignored me and kept walking with the line, a debonair smirk on his face. Someone looked proud of themselves.

"Don't worry bout it. It's my fault you left your shoes behind, I can at least carry you into the building." Since my feet did hurt, I gave in with a smirk of my own and a roll of my eyes.

"Y'know, most girls don't get carried over the threshold on the first date." I told him. Reno shrugged proudly.

"What can I say?" He grinned. "I'm irresistible."

I laughed, head falling back, until my eyes saw over Reno's shoulder. Something off in the distance gave me a bad feeling.

"Uh, Reno?"

"Yeah babe?"

 Nervously, I wrapped my arms around Reno's neck and held on tight. "Is that what I think that is?" The turk turned to look down the street. After a moment his eyes went wide.

"Oh, shit!"

Reno spun back to the line and immediately began moving forward. "Okay, everybody, emergency! Medical emergency, everybody outta the way!"

I glanced back over Reno's shoulder; yup, that was definitely Vincent's form coming towards us, his aura sparking with rage. Literally, I could see a demonic aura formed around him, and it was scary as hell. Cloud was nowhere to be seen. Reno was right; if Vincent caught up to us, it was going to be a medical emergency!

"Coming through, coming through!" Reno was pushing through the crowd of people, still holding me in his arms. "Outta the way now!"

People turned to look at us in surprise, and I shut my eyes as Reno raced through. "C'mon! Let me cut you!" He began looking at each person as they passed. "You owe me a favor, you owe me a favor, I've got blackmail on you - oh, and you were a great lay!" He paused for a sec to wink at a blonde minx nearby, who smirked at him.

"Reno!" I punched his shoulder, and he remembered what was at stake.

"Oi! Come on, everybody move!"

Vincent was running towards us and getting dangerously close. His stare was burning into me, and I burrowed, like a child, into Reno's collar. I heard a demonic roar just as Reno leapt through the doors of the Shinra building and raced into the nearby elevator.

It began closing shut as Reno set me down; as it closed, I could see through the door, standing outside, was Vincent, his mouth set in a hard line. Oh boy.

"We're so dead." I leaned against the wall, heart beating fast. "So, so very dead."

"For now we're alive." Reno assured me, hand on my shoulder.

"How do you figure?"

He smirked. "There's no way a man like Vincent would burst into this party and make a scene. So, for now, we're safe." Reno assured me, moving his arm around my shoulders. As I thought about it, I realized he was right. For now, we had a moment's reprieve. But after the party...

 I sighed and closed my eyes. I'd take whatever Vincent could dish out later. For now, I wanted to have fun.

When the elevator door opened again, it opened to a Winter Wonderland, and I entered it, being held by Reno, a smile on my face.

-=-=-

Rufus Shinra hosts a damn good party.

The decorations were gorgeous. It really looked like the North Pole, but a more professional version of it. Everything was glimmering and white. It wasn't a really full party, which made sense since Shinra had cut down in recent years. But it was beautiful. I couldn't help but giggle. This was so cool!

Reno heard me and chuckled. "Enjoying it already?" I nodded.

"This is really cool. Thanks for inviting me." He smirked down at me.

"Anytime babe." Then he laughed again. "You still don't have any shoes."

I looked down, then shrugged. "Could be worse."

A Shinra party is very glamorous. Most of those present sneered at both Reno and I, more than likely because I wasn't party of the rich or the Shinra elite, and at Reno because he could be a pesky troublemaker. It was just water on his back though, so I didn't let it bother me either.

Almost as soon as we entered the party, Reno introduced me to his circle; Rude and Tseng. Of course I already knew of them, and I had met Rude in passing, but it was cool to be introduced to them.

"Yo, guys!" Reno waved and smiled, pulling me over towards them. "Meet my date." He proceeded to share our names, and after a moment I noticed that Rude and Tseng were both looking at me strangely. They both glanced at Reno at the same time.

"What?" He shrugged. Rude rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses and Tseng sighed. Had I missed something?

Rude extended a hand to me, and I took it. "It's nice to meet you." He said smirking. He was laughing at a joke I hadn't caught onto.

"Nice to meet you." I said. I glanced at Reno, who just smiled sheepishly at me.

"You must be a brave woman, to agree to attend with Reno." Tseng joked smiling lightly. He looked very nice when he smiled. I grinned back.

"I like a challenge." I responded. He seemed to like that answer. Reno put a hand on my shoulder and moved closer to me.

"Hey, don't start insulting me on the first date."

We talked for a few minutes before Reno ran off to get us some drinks. I was left to talk to Rude and Tseng, and of course the matter of my naked feet came up.

I turned slightly pink and laughed despite myself. "I'm afraid that getting here was quite the adventure." I began explaining, in short, how a friend of mine had been very angry at me and both Reno and I had to run away from him to get here.

"Maybe you aren't such a bad match for Reno." Tseng chuckled at me. I blinked. Rude explained what the older man had meant.

"That sounds like the kind of trouble Reno would be a part of." Understanding, I laughed.

"Talking about me?" Reno showed back up, holding my drink and his in his hands. I took mine from him and thanked him. "Only good stuff right?"

"Suuure." He stuck his tongue out at me and put a hand around my waist.

Suddenly the atmostphere changed and became down right venomous. I shivered; Vincent couldn't have come in could he? No, I quickly realized it had nothing to do with him as a deeply frowning blonde stalked up, heels clicking on the tile floor.

"Oh, great." Tseng sighed and turned away. Rude sent a dark glare Reno's way, but the red head ignored it. Before I could ask what was going on, the blonde was right in front of us, standing with her arms crossed.

"Hello, Reno." She sneered at him, then at me. What was her problem?

"Hello, Elena." Reno replied cheerfully. Oh, I knew her! She was the newbie Turk from the game. I didn't much care for her, but I didn't think she was this mean.

Her eyes fell on me and her sneer became meaner. What the hell was up?

"So, are you going to introduce us?" She asked darkly. At the sound of her evil tone I almost felt like taking my chances outside with Vincent.

"Sure will." Reno wasn't bothered at all, though I noticed that both Rude and Tseng were backing away slowly. Reno introduced us but I don't think either Elena nor I were listening. She was too busy trying to set me on fire with her eyes.

"What's your problem?" I finally asked. Her eyebrows flew into her hair.

"My problem?" She asked, hands on her hips. "I'm not the one galavanting around with someone else's man!"

Wait - What?

"Huh?" I glanced from the blonde to Reno, who suddenly looked very nervous. Tseng and Rude backed further away. 

A look of true cruelty came to her face then. She gestured to the red head beside me. "Reno is my boyfriend." Elena said.

My jaw dropped. Tseng and Rude were now nowhere to be seen.

"Boyfriend?" I asked again. I looked up at Reno, who was now sweating.

"You didn't know?" Elena asked. She glared up at Reno.

"Well, girls..." Reno chuckled nervously. Frowning, I turned to glare at him. I knew he had always been a sort of player, but I didn't think he was really such a jerk!

With both of us glaring at him, Reno seemed to falter in his words. "Come on, girls... the more, the merrier!" I was about to rip him a new one, and so was Elena, when suddenly the people on the other side of the room began shouting obscenities. I would've blamed it on Reno if he hadn't been standing next to me.

Elena spun around when the shouting started, and Reno took the chance to grab my arm and drag me away. I protested, but he was much stronger than he looks, and much quicker too. In a flash he had me away from Elena, and then out of the main ball room. He took me down a side hall and into an empty sitting room nearby. He pushed me in, then shut the door behind me, breathing a sigh of relief.

Then he turned around and saw the look on my face.

"RENO!" I shouted. He tried to shush me and I ignored him. "How could you do that to her! To me!" He rushed over and put his hand over my mouth. How dare he! I was about to bite him when he started talking.

"There's a perfectly good explanation for this if you'd care to listen, all right?" He begged, clearly exasperated. Sighing, I gave in and nodded. Reno removed his hand and gestured to a seat.

We both sat down, and I waited for Reno to explain himself. He was actually blushing, which was kinda cute, but I forced myself to remember that I was angry with him.

"Okay, so yeah, Elena and I are dating, and I'm sorry I brought you here without telling you that." That was nice to hear; and he did look repentant. Damn, I had already forgiven him. I was such a softie.

"The truth is, Elena can be kinda bitchy sometimes." Oh Really? I smirked, and he rolled his eyes. "But seriously... she's been kinda ignoring me lately."

I saw where this was going. "You were trying to make her jealous?"

He nodded. "She just brushes me off all the time. Nowadays its like I'm only good for picking up the groceries and doing laundry. And it can't be her job, I'm higher rank than her and I've got more work to do, but I've always got time for her!" The man frowned sadly. Even though he'd already redeemed himself, he kept talking.

"She just doesn't take me seriously. I know I'm the joker around here, but I've got important stuff to say too. But when I try to have a real conversation with her or a romantic one or something she just tells me, 'Go take out the trash', or something, and she always blows me off!"

I almost snorted, and surprisingly, Reno didn't see the innuendo in his words. That was how truly upset he was.

"Oh, honey." I stood up and walked over to him, hugging him around the shoulders. He sighed and leaned his head against my neck. "I'm really sorry, but I don't think this was the best way to go about getting Elena's attention."

"Well, it did work." Reno chuckled humorlessly, gripping my hand.

I rolled me eyes and leaned away from him. "Wouldn't it better just to sit her down and truly talk to her?"

"Uh, Hello?" Reno shrugged. "Like I said, I tried that. She won't listen to me."

Frowning, I tried thinking of a better solution. "Maybe I could talk to her...?"

Reno huffed. He stood up and moved towards the nearby windows.

Taking hold of the handle, he moved it partly open. "I could use some fresh -"

"**WRAGGGGGH**!"

"Holy shit!" I jumped to my feet, startled at the resounding roar that had suddenly come from the window. Reno slammed the window shut, then closed the curtains tight. He ran back over to me and sat down. His hair was literally blown back like in a cartoon show.

"I think I've had enough fresh air now." He muttered quietly, eye twitching slightly.

I stood and moved towards the window. "Was that really -?" Reno reached up and grabbed my wrist.

"No, no, no, that wasn't Vincent, that was the evil Vincent!" Reno said, keeping me from moving. He glanced down. "What's the story with him anyways?"

I sighed and shrugged. "Well, he didn't want me coming here cause of the whole Shinra debacle a while back." Reno nodded knowingly. "But I never thought he'd act like this... this isn't normal for Vincent."

"Yeah, I know, and I'm not even his friend!" Reno glanced at the window and back at me. "Are you two...?"

I flushed scarlet. "I wish."

Confused, Reno motioned for me to sit this time. "Then why are you here with me?"

"Well..." I sighed. "I've been really stressed out for the past couple months... for obvious reasons. I thought it would be nice to forget that for one night. And I do have... feelings... for Vincent, but he hasn't been around much recently, so..."

"So you thought I'd be a nice distraction for one night?" Reno surmised. I winced.

"Sorry..." He laughed and shrugged.

"Your reason wasn't as bad as mine. You didn't lie to me." He said.

We both sat in silence for a minute. "Now what?" I asked him.

"Well, I definitely don't feel like facing Elena right now." Reno muttered nervously, eyes flitting to the door.

"Ditto me for Vincent." I shivered and looked to the window, where Chaos was likely perched, waiting for me to leave the party.

"So... how do we escape?" I asked him. The red head grinned suddenly, and stood, hands on his hips.

"Babe, I'm not a Turk for nothing. Trust me, I can get us out of this."

Suddenly someone began banging on the door from outside, and I heard Elena shouting.

"Reno! Reno, is that you! Open this door now!"

I glanced from the door to the window. "Great... so how is the great Turk getting us out of this?" I asked him nervously. He looked pretty nervous too.

"Uh..." He started looking around frantically. I did too, looking for some way out; a door to another room, or something. I heard Reno cheer and turned back to him.

Grabbing my hand, he pulled me to the opposite wall, still ignoring Elena's commotion outside. There was a bookshelf on this wall; Reno began reading the titles, apparently looking for something.

"A book?" I asked.

"Nope." Reno smirked, reaching up and pulling on one novel. "A secret door."

He was right; suddenly the room was spinning as the bookshelf turned into a revolving door. It spun around and we both entered a new room, an office that looked like it hadn't been used in a while.

 "What was that put in for?"

"Lots of Shinra buildings have those kind of secret doors. Sometimes just because Rufus wanted a way to escape people. Y'know, executives he didn't want to talk to, or something." I remembered the Shinra mansion, and the secret bookshelf doorway that led to the basement.

"Cool." Still, Reno didn't rest.

"Come on, we'd better go. She probably knows about the door too." We walked towards the doorway, which Reno opened, and then promptly slammed shut.

"Apparently she does know about the doorway." I sighed. "And she knew where it led to."

"RENO! Get out here NOW!"

"Leave me alone!" He complained childishly. I rolled my eyes as he grabbed my hand and pulled me away.

"Why am I being dragged along? I could just leave you to her." I told him.

"But I saved you from Vincent!" Well, he kinda had. I decided to pity him and go along with his weirdness anyway.

So, as he held tight to my hand, I let Reno pull me towards another door at the other end of the office. We raced out of it just as Elena turned the corner and shouted at us.

"Reno!"

"This way!" He pulled me into a stairwell and began pounding down the steps. The man was like a lightning bolt, if he hadn't been holding on to me so tightly, I would've been left behind.

Apparently his lady love was just as fast, as I heard high heels clicking quickly on the stairs above us. Reno led me through the door two levels below, and we came out into a hallway lined with offices.

"Come on!" He turned left and pulled me down the hall, then into another office. Ducking behind the wall, he then glanced out to look for Elena.

When the stairway door opened loudly, Reno jumped back into the office. All was quiet for a moment. Then, I heard more high heels clicking, but they were fading away.

A minute later, Reno glanced around. "Coast's clear." He took my hand again and led me back to the stairway. Quickly and quietly, we snuck back in, and then raced back up the stairs towards the party.

"Whew..." Reno sighed in relief once we were back in the ballroom. "I think we're safe. Come on, let's go find the guys." He let go of my hand, but offered me his arm. I let out a sigh of relief.

"Maybe now we can actually enjoy this party." I told him. This time we didn't have to race through the party.

We took a moment to get drinks, since we'd lost our first ones, and a plate of cheese and crackers, and some fruit. Then Reno led me to a small room nearby where Tseng, Rude, and a few others I didn't know were gathered.

Two things happened when we entered the room. Firstly, two yellow eyes became visible to me from outside; Chaos had obviously followed us back down to this level.

Secondly, one of Reno's more drunken friends cheered when we entered the room. "Haha! Kiss!"

I blanched. "What?"

Reno's friends hooted and hollered, but for Rude and Tseng who merely chuckled. One of them pointed at the door frame.

Reno and I both glanced up. My heart plummeted to my feet and nervous butterflies were born in my stomach.

There was mistletoe hanging above us.

"Come on, Reno, don't leave the lady hanging!" One man laughed. Reno glanced at him and chuckled nervously.

I quickly leaned towards him. "This is not the best thing to be doing if you don't want Elena to cut off your penis and feed it to you!"

"I know, I know!" Reno whispered back. Then he sighed, and shrugged. "Look, what could it hurt? For tonight, you're my date. We can have a little fun."

My throat tightened and I began to panic. I glanced from the cheering group of Shinra employees, to the leering demon outside, to the smirking red head in front of me.

To my surprise, I didn't really want to kiss Reno. Really, I just wanted to run out of this party and into Vincent's arms, even if he was currently homicidal. My eyes drifted to Vincent outside, and remained on him.

Even in his strange, demonic form, he was startlingly beautiful.

A strange, bubbling feeling rose in my chest towards my throat; suddenly the room was as hot as a sauna, and I felt my hands trembling slightly. At that moment all I wanted was to be with Vincent, somehow. What was this burning sensation threatening to swallow me up?

A gentle hand took hold of my chin and turned my face. Reno was smirking lightly at me. I guess he took the red blush on my face as embarrassment. In slow motion I watched him lean in, and I felt his breath on my lips just before they touched.

I panicked when his lips touched mine, and bolted back away from him. In that next moment, chaos truly did erupt.

Two loud noises erupted. A shriek of indignant rage came from the ball room. "RENOOOOO!"

The red head spun around to see a blonde blur careening through the crowd towards him.

From the windows came a sudden roar so thunderous the window panes shook. I spun around to see Vincent, wings unfurled, beating on the window, his eyes set on me.

Shivering, I turned to the window. This party sucked. All I had done was run around, bare foot. My feet ached, my legs ached, I still hadn't gotten to eat anything, and I just wanted to go home.

I took a step towards the window where Vincent was, when suddenly Reno grabbed my hand and raced away, dragging me unwillingly behind him.

"Come on!" He shouted. I was so tired of being dragged around like a doll! I didn't need Reno to protect me!

"Reno! Let me go!" I screamed. I don't think he heard me.

We raced through the party out to a stairway, and this time Reno raced upwards. I cursed as we ran, my poor feet burning up. We went up a few levels and I finally managed to pull my hand free.

"Let's split up!" I told him. Then, without waiting for his response, I raced off, disappearing around a corner, and then promptly fell on my butt.

It took a moment for me to catch my breath. Chest heaving, I pulled my legs up and rested my chin on my knees. Every part of me hurt and my stomach growled somberly. I hadn't eaten since lunch.

This party was supposed to have been a distraction, not a marathon. Reno, though I understood his misled intentions, hadn't really been the wonderful date I had hoped he'd be. And now, Vincent would probably be pissed with me for life, since I'd been "romantic" with the "enemy", or something. I'd had a horrible night, and probably lost a good friend because of it.

A few tears snuck out of my eyes. Surprised, I sat up, and wiped them away. Where had that come from?

I was being a baby. All I had to do was find Vincent and explain everything to him, and then we could go home. And I could finally eat!

So, I stood, and glanced around. There was one problem with my plan; I had no idea where the hell I was. If I could just find an elevator...

"Lost?"

Startled, I jumped and spun around. My heart settled down when I saw a familiar figure step out of the darkness.

"Oh, uh, Mr. ... Tseng." It occurred to me I didn't really know his last name. The man chuckled at my stumble.

"Just Tseng is fine." He smiled. I couldn't help but smile back. Despite Tseng being the dangerous leader of the Turks, I knew from playing Crisis Core that he was also a good friend. I really did like him.

I nodded. "Yeah, I escaped Reno, but got lost on the way." He approached me and chuckled.

"Escaped?" He asked, an inquisitive look on his face. "Wasn't he your date?"

Sighing, I shook my head. "In the end, both he and I were just using each other. He was trying to Elena's attention, and I was trying to escape my problems."

"Did it work?" Tseng asked.

"Nope." I huffed and crossed my arms. "They just followed me."

"Well, I can't help you with that, but I can show you the way out." Then, like a gentleman, Tseng offered me his arm.

This was more like it. Tseng was more my type than Reno anyway. I liked pale skin lined by long dark hair.

We began walking down the hall peacefully; I couldn't hear hardly anything from the party downstairs. It was the first nice moment of the night. I let out a sigh of relief.

"So, you're the girl from another world." I winced at that comment.

"I guess everybody knows now?"

Tseng shook his head. "Only myself, my boss, and Reno. He can keep his mouth shut when he wants too." Relief flooded me and I smiled.

"That's good to know. Though I guess, it must be kind of strange to think about." I looked up to see Tseng thinking about it.

"I've heard of many strange things while working here. Your story is one of the strangest, I must admit." He smirked.

We fell quiet for a moment. Tseng wasn't the most outgoing man, and I didn't really know what to say to him. Eventually, he spoke to me.

"I suppose you're the reason the building has had a demon outside, circling it, all night?"

I chuckled and nodded, a little embarrassed. "I angered one of my friends by coming here. Looking back it was all a stupid mistake, and... I don't know if he'll forgive me."

Tseng, to my surprise, griped my hand a little tighter. "He would not be a good friend if he didn't." He said, smiling. My nerves calmed a little and I returned the smile.

The man opened a door and led me... outside? Then he followed me out onto a balcony many, many feet above the ground below.

"Wait... how do I get home from here?" I turned to ask him. Tseng smirked, and glanced at the sky. I followed his gaze, a little confused.

My eyes moved left, and I noticed a gargoyle nearby. Strange; I hadn't seen any on the building from below. And this building wasn't really old enough to have that sort of decoration. I scrutinized the statue, but it was in the shadows and hard to see. Something about it made me nervous, so I turned away.

A shadow fell over me then, a tall one with large wings. My body seized up as I realized how exactly I was supposed to go home. Glancing back, I saw that the gargoyle had stood up, yellow eyes trained on me. I turned back around and looked at Tseng with wide, fearful eyes, shivering.

"He's gonna kill me!" I whispered fearfully. The beating of wings behind me made me even more nervous.

"He is right to be mad; coming here was dangerous. Luckily for you not all of Shinra's employees are cruel." He motioned to himself. "But, his approach was a little... intimidating. Both of you have been rather difficult to one another." Tseng glanced up at Vincent behind me. "You need to sit together and have a long talk." Since when did Tseng play Dr. Phil?

Sighing, I nodded. I knew he was right. So, still a little nervous, I turned to face my friend.

Vincent, or Chaos, or both, was crouching on the railing, arm resting on one knee. His yellow eyes were drilling holes into me, but he seemed to have calmed down, at least a little. I took a step towards him, and shyly raised my hand.

His gloved hand took mine, while his other arm wrapped around my waist. Vincent adjusted me in his arms, until I was resting gently against his chest. Then, we were off into the sky, heading home... finally.

-=-=-

Flying is fun as long as you don't look down. Even if you aren't afraid of heights, being that high up can rip the air from your lungs. My heart hammered in my chest and I held Vincent tighter.

"**I won't drop you**." He (They?) promised, arms wrapping around me tighter. I nodded against his neck.

"Still scary though."

We flew on in silence a little longer before I glanced down and noticed we weren't soaring over Edge; the ruins of Midgar were below us. Confused, I asked Vincent why.

"**I didn't want to talk around Tifa and the others**." He explained.

After a moment we began circling lower and lower; soon he gently landed on his feet, folding up his wings behind him. I let out a sigh of relief. He helped me back to my feet, and then he reached into his gun holster. There was no weapon inside, but instead...

I laughed when he removed my high heels that I'd left behind. "Thanks." He handed them over with a saucy smirk.

"**I'm not sure they'll be any more comfortable than running around barefoot**." He commented with a chuckle.

"You're probably right."

I took the shoes anyway, holding them instead of putting them on. We stood in silence. I noticed, after a minute, that we were standing outside of Aerith's church.

"Wanna go inside?" I asked. I led the way in, quickly moving to sit, setting the shoes aside. It felt nice to rest.

Vincent, still in his Chaos formed, entered and stood nearby. I guessed his wings were hard to sit with. Which made me wonder...

"Why are you... still like that?" I asked. Yellow eyes fell on me and I became lost in them. The vibrant, strange color was breath taking. Vincent always had a lot of power in his eyes.

"**Chaos refuses to leave. Both of us are fighting for control, and when I'm... emotional, I find it hard to keep him back**." He finally did sit, though it was difficult for him. He had to move his wings out of the way as he tried getting comfortable.

"Why did you flip out like that? I mean..." Sighing, I brushed a hand through my hair. "Okay, Shinra's dangerous. I shouldn't have gone. But you really lost it."

Vincent's dark skin turned darker, almost as if he were blushing. "**I...**" Sighing, he suddenly gripped his arm. "**Shinra has that affect on me. I won't let them hurt anyone else I care about**."

 His concern touched me, but still, couldn't he have controlled his temper better?

"Well, you don't need to worry about me ever going near Shinra again." I muttered bitterly.

Confused, he glanced over, and seemed to understand from my glum expression. "**The date did not go wel**l?"

"That's an understatement." I began pulling out the annoying earrings I had on. While I did, I explained to him about the debacle, and how Reno had pulled me along through his madness. I skimmed over some of the feelings I'd had while thinking of Vincent, of course, and when I told about how Reno had kissed me, Vincent really did growl. The yellow in his eyes grew brighter.

"**He didn't hurt you, did he**?" Vincent looked tense, like he would leap up and attack if I gave the wrong answer.

"No, of course not! It just... it wasn't as fun as I'd hoped it'd be." Sighing, I set my earrings and other jewelry with my shoes and stood, beginning to pace. Vincent watched me closely.

"**Did you... care for him**?"

I sputtered with chuckles. "No, not really. He's a nice guy, but... no." Vincent, though he was right in front of me, suddenly appeared in my mind's eye. Why did he keep doing that? "I really just wanted to have fun. Instead, it became a total hassle." Huffing, I kneeled by the flowers at the front of the church. They had somehow survived the flood from months back.

"**I apologize. That was partly my fault**." Vincent stood and approached me slowly. "**But, you must understand, no matter what changes about Shinra, at the core it is still a company that attracts evil, violent men. Anyone would be a fool to enter that building unguarded, you especially**."

I had known that all of this would be coming, but I bared it anyway. Since he had flown around outside all night due to his concern for me, I figured I could at least listen to him.

Then he said my name softly, and I turned to look at him again. A mixture of anguish and pain filled his expression and confused the hell out of me. Concerned, I raced over to him.

 "You all right?"

When he looked up at me next, a chill raced through my limbs that stemmed from both fear and a nervous excitement. The feeling traveled like lightning through me before pooling between my legs and I couldn't look away. Vincent's eyes were burning into me, and he was growling lightly like an animal in heat.

Shocked, I backed away a little. "Vincent...?" I didn't get far before, in a flash, his hand took tight hold of my upper arm. It was a vice grip and I couldn't move. True fear hit me then. Had Vincent lost it? Was Chaos in full control?

I tried to discern the truth by staring into Vincent's eyes. "What's going on? Vincent?"

"**Not right now**." Vincent - or should I say, Chaos, murmured huskily. "**He is awake and watching, but not in control**." Chaos explained as he took a step towards me. I couldn't move away, not only because he was holding me in place, but because my shivering legs wouldn't move.

"O - Oh. Hello, Chaos." I whispered. We were standing so very close that I felt Chaos's breath against my cheek when he chuckled.

Slowly, he leaned in and muttered against my ear, "**Hello**."

Another shiver traveled down my spine. I was quickly losing the ability to stay standing.

What the hell was happening? A minute ago, we'd been having a normal conversation. Now I wasn't sure what the hell was happening. All I knew was that Chaos was WAY too close for comfort. My heart was bursting, beating like a drum in my ears. A mixture of attraction and fear was driving me nuts.

"What's going on?" I asked again. Chaos's hand, which had been holding my arm tightly, was now traveling over my skin in a gentle caress.

"**Vincent doesn't often get emotional. When he does, its almost impossible for him to stay in control. Especially when all of us demons join to fight him off**." Chaos's other arm was suddenly around my waist, and I jumped in fear. Yet, nothing he did was very forceful, it was all surprisingly gentle.

"I get that... but why are you..." I slowly, fearfully, lifted my chin, and saw that I was now a millimeter from Chaos's - Vincent's - perfect, pale lips.

"**Why am I... touching you**?" He finished with a menacing smirk. His hand traced my spine lightly, up and down. "**Because... Vincent won't. He denies himself such pleasures, even though he wants them. So, I must do it for him**."

Another spike of fear ran through me. "Look... I understand all that... but I've had a very stressful day, and I am very tired, and I'd just..."

"**Shush**." Chaos then nibbled on my ear lobe, pulling it, nipping it with his sharp canines. A gasp escaped me and I froze. Chaos kept biting and pulling, until his lips moved to my neck and my body jolted. I tried moving away but his hold was iron on me.

Chaos trailed kisses down my skin to the base of my neck, where it joined the shoulder. There, he bit down, not too hard, but enough to make me gasp and shiver. My skin was electrified, and I found that my hands were gripping Chaos's shoulders tightly. Both of his hands were now holding onto my thighs tightly, massaging. Something about this felt so very wrong... but so amazingly pleasurable. I was truly enjoying it.

He growled against my skin and it reverberating nicely. Then, I could suddenly see his face again, his features pulled tight by desire, his eyes flaring with need. Suddenly I was scared again.

His hands moved from my hips to my shoulders and he pulled me against his chest. "**Don't be frightened. I would never hurt you**." Since this was a bloodthirsty demon talking, I was very surprised by his words. "**Just enjoy it**." He accented his sentence by finally pressing his flushed lips against mine.

Unlike the kiss with Reno, which had been hurried, awkward, and horrible for me, this kiss was drawn out, smooth, and the most wet, intimate experience I had had to date. Immediately I fell limp against Chaos's chest, unable to support myself, my hands flying up and becoming entangled in his hair.

He pressed against me, sending shivers down my spine and warmth into my mouth. Chaos was like a furnace. Just standing by him set my skin alight. The way his mouth moved was as if he was slowly trying to devour me, and it wasn't bad at all.

A wet muscle moved over my lips slowly, and I let it enter my mouth a moment later. I'd say that our tongues battled, but it was no match at all. Chaos won me over quickly, sending electric sparks through my mouth into the rest of me. Demons had some strange sort of pleasuring magic, and Chaos knew how to use it to make me melt. I let out a whimpering moan against his mouth, and in response, he growled possessively, arms tightening around my waist.

My back was suddenly against the ground, Chaos looming over me, and then he began grinding against me. Despite the many shockwaves of pleasure it sent through me, the motion brought me back to reality. I began fighting back, trying to push him off me. Of course I was no match for him, but Chaos did heed me and lean away for a moment.

"Please... stop." I shook my head nervously. "I don't want this."

The demon's eyes flared, and his hands gripped my arms tightly. I felt his claws against my skin. "**What, so some other man can take you from us? Some foolish red headed Turk? We won't let anyone else claim you**!" The demon proclaimed loudly, his words backed by a growling tone.

Indignant rage burst to life inside of me; but, before I began shouting at the dangerous demon, I reminded myself that this was not Vincent talking and that he didn't think like humans did. That didn't keep me from wanting to beat his head into the floor.

"I don't like him okay? And taking me by force isn't going to warm me up to you!" I told him. "It'll just drive me away!"

"**But once we claim you, you will be ours forever**." Chaos insisted. Now his voice was less angry and slightly confused.

I shook my head. "That's not how it is with humans. You can take me now, but I will hate you for it. And you'll lose me forever."

A shocked look came to his face. "**You... speak as if the idea of being with me is not disgusting**."

I surprised him, and myself especially, when I immediately answered, "Because it's not."

He blinked, unable to respond for a moment. Then, his demonic aura began to disappear. The yellow eyes faded to red, and the dark skin became pale again. Everything demonic went away as Vincent reappeared.

As he did, I could see the exhaustion on his face. Once Chaos was gone, Vincent let out a long groan and collapsed against my chest, asleep before he'd finished falling. I caught him, pitying. Jeez... I was so confused, and I really wanted to talk to him, but I'd have to wait until he was rested. I'd thought we had problems before... now we really needed to talk since Chaos had suddenly started molesting me!

And since I had enjoyed it. My face flushed with shame and I hung my head. Adjusting Vincent, I pulled him up into my lap.

Tired as I was, I didn't feel like lugging him all the way back to Edge. Looked like I wasn't going to get to eat that night, since I didn't have my cell phone on me.

A moment later, I had Vincent and I resting comfortably next to the garden of flowers. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him close, and then closed my eyes. Usually I'd feel uncomfortable about sleeping out in the open, but... I had a feeling that both of us would be very safe within Aerith's Church.

In seconds I was fast asleep.


	7. Unleashed

It was nighttime at the Seventh Heaven, and the kids were upstairs, supposed to be asleep. But, I thought with a grin, if they were anything like me when I was their age, then sleep wouldn't come for a long time.

"Where's this one go?" I whispered to Tifa, holding up a bar of chocolate with almonds.

Cloud answered for me. "Denzel loves those." Smiling, I nodded and slipped it into the boy's stocking.

"This one's wrapped." Cloud lifted the finished package, and Tifa took it to its place under the tree.

"I think that might be it. Everything's wrapped, right?" The woman whispered, glancing one more time over everything.

"I think it is. And Santa's stuff is in there with ours, right?" Cloud glanced under the tree to make sure, and nodded.

"Should I bring down my gifts for you guys?" I asked, turned to the standing woman.

Tifa smiled and shook her head. "You didn't need to buy anything."

With a grin I stood and whispered, "But I did!" Then, I tiptoed towards the stairs.

"Be careful." Cloud warned, though of course I already knew. I stepped lightly on the stairs and down the hall.

The door to the kids room was shut, but I thought I might've heard voices. Smiling, I turned into my room to get my already wrapped gifts out of the closet.

As I grabbed them, I checked to make sure the name tags were there. First was a funny tee shirt for Tifa, which I thought would suit her perfectly. There was a hair clip set for Marlene, a CD for Cloud, and a grey beanie for Denzel. There were other assorted things for my friends, cheap because I couldn't afford much, but it was the best I could do.

I smiled as I came to the bottom of the stack. There sat the gift I was most proud of: a square, thick book, full of pictures I had taken for Vincent. Part of me wondered what he'd think of it. All week I had fought over whether or not making it had been a good idea. What if he took offense to it when I explained it to him? Nervously, I prayed he wouldn't.

Either way, it was time, so I gathered up the presents and quietly tiptoed down the stairs, an excited jitter in my steps. I was thrilled; albeit not so much as the youngsters in the next room, but eager for morning nonetheless.

Tifa was the only one in the room when I came downstairs. "Where'd Cloud run off to?" I asked. As I crossed the room to put the presents down, I waited for an answer. None came. "Tifa?" I stood and looked to see her head in her hands.

"Hey." She jumped when I put my hand on her shoulder. "You okay?"

"Y - Yeah, just - just tired." The woman smiled. It didn't seem genuine.

Slowly, I sat beside her at the bar. "What's up?"

Her head shook. "I'm fine, I'm just -" All I had to do was look at her, the way a girl does when she knows, and Tifa caved. The facade crumbled and her brow fell.

"I - We were just, and - I shouldn't have, I just thought -" She gestured, and I happened to notice where. My eyes followed the path and I winced when I saw, and realized.

Mistletoe.

"Oh, Tifa," I sighed. Lifting my arm, I wrapped it around her shoulder and pulled her in, and she allowed it, leaning against my arm. Hiccups began, though she didn't openly sob. I didn't comment, only offered my silent support.

"He - He just stood there - and then he - he left. I dunno where, I don't know where he is half the time anymore. It's almost as bad as when - when - the Geostigma, and he never -"

"It's okay, hon." I brushed her hair with my hand. "Don't cry."

"I - I used to know, always know -"

"I know."

"And he doesn't talk to me! Not - Not about important things! And - I guess - it's my fault. I - I make it awkward."

I lifted her chin with a finger. "Not even true. Cloud is Cloud, a wise woman once said. He doesn't tell people what's on his mind often, because it's not in his nature. But when he needs it, he comes to you. You're his closest friend." Pausing to sigh, I squeezed her shoulder. "I know you wish it could be more than that, but," How to word this delicately?

"He doesn't feel like that. At least, not anymore." The woman sat back up, composure returning. A dark chuckle escaped her, and I shuddered because the sound didn't fit Tifa at all. "Maybe he never did."

"I don't know. But, I do know it is not your fault. It has nothing to do with you at all." At least, not unless you count physical attributes.

Quiet descended. The Christmas tree caught my eye in the corner. Presents choked it, making a two foot tall, three foot thick wall of merry merchandise. Reminded me of home; reminded me of my father complaining how we'd be paying for the "wall's" bills for months. A smile cracked on my face, and I found myself standing.

I crossed the room, plug in the tree, and returned to my seat.

"Back home," I began, "the tree stayed on for a few hours during the night. I would find my mom sitting in there sometimes, just staring at it in the dark." Tifa looked a little surprised, red eyes turning to glance at me. I tried not to speak of home to my friends, so I guess she wasn't expecting it. "It was a gorgeous sight, because mom had tree decoration down to an art, with layers of lights and ornaments and ribbons and sparkly things. In the dark it was gorgeous. Kinda comforting."

Finished, I turned and smiled at her. She didn't return it, but she at least the tears had stopped. What I did not think she'd do was reply with her own historic tale.

"I decorated the tree back home. Our tree always looked kinda -" She chuckled, "Kinda sad, actually. Before she died, mom did the tree, and dad tried to keep it going after she was gone. But he just, he -" another chuckle and a strong shake of her head. "He was really no good. So I took over. I found that comforting; doing something mom had done for so long. No good at it though."

I nodded, unsure of what to say. Tifa hadn't been so open with me about anything before, and here she was crying about unrequited love and telling stories about her dead parents.

"Tifa."

"Hmm."

"Cloud's gay."

There it was: the two words I hadn't wanted to say for so long, out in the open. Not a thing on Tifa's face changed. A moment passed when I thought I had actually broken her, but then her lips opened slightly and let out a simple, "Huh."

I remained quiet, afraid that saying something might trigger some kind of mental breakdown. But Tifa seemed fine. She looked off into the distance, deep in thought.

"That... that makes a lot of sense, ... actually." The brunette murmured slowly. "I just never thought of it before."

Stock still, I watched Tifa's eyes flutter through many conclusions, as she spoke in half sentences.

"The kids in Nibelheim... and... he got close to girls but never as close as you'd expect... I mean, there was me, and Aerith, and Jessie... you could count Yuffie I guess..." Now she looked at me. "And the way he talked about Sephiroth... sometimes when you looked in his eyes you could see something. I had always thought that was because they were at Shinra together or because Sephiroth was his former idol. But maybe it was..."

"Yeah. That's what I thought."

Her eyes became harder and she glanced at me. "He told you?"

"No, he didn't." Narrowing her glance, she pressed further.

"Who?"

This was the part that was going to get really awkward. "... Cid, actually."

"Cid!?" Her slightly angry facade broke into astonishment. Blinking was all she seemed able to do for about ten seconds. "How the hell did Cid know?"

I allowed myself one more deep sigh before continuing on this really awkward conversation train. "Well, they're... kinda together."

"Oh." She paused. Then her lips formed a quiet circle. "_Oh_."

"Yeah."

"... Cloud and... Cid?"

Smiling, I shrugged. "Apparently Fenrir had something to do with it."

Tifa actually let a small smile show. "Huh. I thought that bike took an awful long time to repair." She saw the question in my eyes. "Every time that monster needed so much as a new screw, Cloud would take it all the way to Rocket Town. Sometimes he'd be there days, maybe a week. Now I know why."

"Y'know, he probably didn't tell you because he knew about your feelings."

The strength, the womanly confidence, the pure Tifa essence that had faded for a brief time, was finally back. She smirked. "I know that's the reason. It's just like him." Her belief in her own beauty and self worth was back. "I know Cloud."

We sat in comfortable silence for maybe two minutes.

"And I knew Cid was different." Tifa suddenly said, turning on the stool towards me. "He just seemed... seemed bouncier. At first I thought he and Shera might've gotten together, but then I saw the two of them and it just wasn't there. And Cloud too, he seems less... less heavy."

"Less on his mind." She nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, there's not as much there dragging him down. I guess they... they helped each other." Shocked, I merely watched Tifa fall silent, unable to speak. I was very, very surprised by how good Tifa was taking this. I almost said so out loud, but Tifa said something first.

"You know... when you first came here I thought of you as another kid." Changing the topic from Cloud's gaiety to me? Not random at all. "Just like Denzel, Marlene, and Cloud, somebody I had to take care of." Slightly insulted, it must've shown on my face, cause Tifa noticed. "I don't mean that badly. I usually take care of everybody in AVALANCHE, even those twice my age. It just happens. And you can be really childish."

I pouted, before realizing that probably wasn't the adult thing to do and straightening my face. Tifa just shook her head.

"But I was wrong." She smiled. "You've really helped take care of me."

"Really?" She nodded. Doubtful, I cocked an eyebrow. "I mean, telling you your best friend's a queer is hardly equal to you feeding, housing, and paying for me every day."

"You've done more for me than out Cloud." She joked. But her eyes were serious. "It's true. I mean, I haven't had... I haven't really had a girl to talk to in a long time. Back in Midgar, there was Jessie, but she died when the plate fell. Then I had Aerith... but, well..."

"What about Yuffie?"

She shrugged. "Yeah, but she's a good bit younger, both mentally and physically." Tifa chuckled. "It's not quite the same. With Aerith, I could tell her everything, my thoughts, my dark secrets. And she did the same with me. Late night confidants, you know? Kinda like this."

I got what she was saying, but it shocked me. Tifa Lockhart had just admitted that she thought of me as a close friend, perhaps one of her closest since, other than Cloud, I was the only one she saw all the time, and the only one she could relate to as a girl.

There were no words for the bubbling gratitude in my stomach, sending chills through me. "Tifa, I'm... I'm touched. And, just so you know, ever since I came here, you've been a great help, with everything. Without you, I'd feel much more alone." Our eyes met, and after a minute, we both just smiled. I let my instincts guide me and pulled her into a hug, which she returned.

When we let go, I smirked and spoke. "Well, I'm just glad that the Cloud thing is out in the open." I began. "It's no good to pine over somebody who's interested in a different make and model, if you know what I mean."

She just stared at me for a second. Then, we both burst into tears and boisterous laughter. The kids upstairs probably heard us: but if they did, maybe they thought it was just Santa and his peanut gallery.

In the morning, Cloud, Tifa, the kids, and I would celebrate together. I would give Vincent his gift on New Years, when the others came to celebrate, and like a child, I simply couldn't wait.

-=-=-=-

I should have known the red headed menace would not be gone for long. He came by the morning of the 26.

"Hey, babe!" The familiar voice came from the doorway. Rolling my eyes, I kept on going with my waitress duties, clearing a table of dirty dishes.

"Whaddya want Reno?" The man huffed playfully, and followed as I carried the dishes to the kitchen.

"You can be so cold, sweetheart. And here I am tryin' to help ya." Yeah right. I moved towards the sink, and heard Reno's random appearance in the kitchen being greeted by a chorus hellos. As if the Turk suddenly appearing in the back of the Seventh Heaven was perfectly normal.

"We all know how well your last attempt at help went." I muttered; Reno winced, and I actually felt kind of bad."

"I said I was sorry."

It took a moment, but I finally stopped working with a sigh. "Yeah, me too. So what are you here for?"

A smile came to his face. "Knew you'd come around." Then he became serious. "I couldn't keep your break in secret for very long." I frowned, remembering that day. "The archives were combed up and down a few nights ago. Whanna know what they found?" Nervous, I shyly glance up. "Nothin'." What? "Not a thing missing."

"Come again?"

He scratched his neck. Reno muttered, "Nothing's gone. Those pictures you took? They were never there in the first place."

-=-=-=-

_Never there..._

Papers in hand, I flipped through, examining each one carefully. Where had they come from? How had they gotten into Shinra?

Eyes narrowing, I carefully searched each picture for an anomaly, a clue, anything that might reveal why they had come to me. It was on the third look through that i noticed something.

One of the pictures was of a neighborhood in my hometown, but something was off. Each house ha three stories, a manicured lawn, and a suburban in the driveway. Pretty well off people. But the gardens... The gardens were all full of just one flower. If the pictures had been in color, I knew these flowers would have been white and green. They looked just like the ones growing in Aerith's church.

-=-=-=-

"You think Aerith planted these for you to find?"

Nodding, I again motioned to the flowers. "These are new. No house I've seen in my world has them."

"She's always lookin' out for us." Cid mumbled. Tifa hummed in agreement, her hands slowly down as she worked, until she came to a stop.

"Maybe she brought you here." The bartender said, a thoughtful look on her face.

"Maybe. Question is, what for?"

The door opened then; it was not a customer (the bar was almost empty, as it was still pretty early), but instead Reeve hurried in towards us with heavy eyes.

"Has anyone seen Vincent?" The huffing man asked, chest heaving and face red.

"No; somethin' wrong?" Cid stood to help the man, who just waved him off. Tifa filled a glass of water.

"He was supposed to be at a meeting today at the WRO, but he didn't show. I called him after and he answered but during the call..." He paused to catch his breath. Heart leaping in my chest, I bit my lip.

Cloud braced a hand on Reeve's back, holding him up. "You ran the whole way here? Why didn't you call?"

"N - No one answered."

"Marlene's on the phone upstairs with Barret." Concerned, Tifa handed him the water glass and Reeve swallowed it all.

Blood rushing, my fists clenched so tight the nails bit my skin, I muttered. "What happened?

"He seemed distressed..." Reeve began again. Face paling he hung his head. "He... he started to roar..."

All eyes flew up, wide, and met midair. Cloud leapt to his feet and rushed to the garage.

"Tifa! Got the truck?" Cid was close after, as the brunette hurried out from behind the bar.

"Barret's got it, we can take your pick up." As she grabbed her gloves she looked back to me.

"Watch the kids!" Fiercely I shook my head.

"Reeve can watch them. I'm coming." I rushed ahead of her to the car, even as she sputtered protests.

Cid put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't try. She's just as stubborn as you."

The thunder of Fenrir's engine filled the garage, as the door began to rise. We three gathered into Cid's old pick up, just as Reeve appeared in the doorway.

"We traced his phone to the wilds near the Chocobo Farm!" He shouted over the noise. Nodding, Cloud backed out and with a gunned roar, tore down the street.

"Everybody hold on!" Cid shouted, grimacing, speeding out of the garage and knocking the mailbox into the street.

"Cid!"

"Hey's it a fucking emergency all right!?" I couldn't help but agree; chest constricted, my hands gripped the beaten leather as if doing so might save my life._ Please let this be a false alarm... be okay..._

And off we went.

=-=-=-

The Chocobo Farm wasn't far from Edge, but it was like an age passed in the car. The journey was spent in tense silence, each person worried in their own way. Cid probably damaged the steering wheel with how tightly he gripped it, and Tifa continuously cracked her knuckles, itching to pit them against whatever had hurt Vincent. Had his demon really been released, and why? We were all worried.

We came towards the farm and Cid cursed. "Look at that!" Tifa gasped, and I undid my seatbelt so I could lean forward and see.

Carnage at the peaceful farm; the trees surrounding it had been ripped apart, tossed about like playthings. Part of the fence had been completely trashed, and the Chocobos were racing about terrified, as their handlers attempted in vain to calm them.

CLoud had already parked, and was running towards the famers. Cid pulled off the road and we rushed out to join him.

Before we got to the farmers, Cloud turned and approached us. "Giant monsters swept through here an hour ago." The blond muttered, eyes heavy. "Description matches."

"This looks less like Vince was defendin' himself..." Cid began.

"And more like one of his demons fought their way free." finished Tifa.

"We'll follow him." Cloud muttered, before turning to me. "Stay with the farmers and keep an eye out. Call us if he comes back." I nodded and didn't put up a fight. From the look of the farm, Vincent's inner monster was pissed, and could easily make mince meat of helpless me. "Be careful guys." Now I was really frightened for them too.

Cid dragged me into a hug suddenly, ruffling my hair. "We've got this kid, don't worry. Be back in a jiff."

I forced myself to nod and smile.

-=-=-=-

A blood red sunset painted the sky, and my queasy stomach continued to make bile rise in my throat. My friends were currently out hunting one of my other friends, and I had no idea if any of them were okay.

Huffing, I leaned in on the Chocobo I was petting. The flock had eventually calmed down, and once more busy eating grass. The giant birds were so soft, and smelled like... like peanut butter. It was really weird, but comforting. With a sigh, I leaned back to look at Cherry, the red Chocobo I was petting. It seemed to smile at me. "Kweh!"

Looking at that smile I pushed images of my friend's bloody corpses far, far away. I was freaking out way too much. Cloud and his friends had saved the world at least twice now. They could handle this. I tried to convince myself that by repeating it over and over.

In a sudden violent instant, the poor creature I was petting shrieked, and was ripped from my arms, only feathers left in its wake.

A giant shadow fell over me, a growling monster with bright yellow eyes.

But it wasn't Chaos; oh no. This snarling demon was a towering, fur covered thing with a dog's mouth, teeth barred at me.

Breath hitched in my throat, I stared into the predatory eyes of Galian Beast, more horrified than I'd ever been.

THe farmers finally heard the pathetic squawking of the chocobo, who'd been tossed aside, and raced towards me. A giant clawed hand wrapped around my waist, picked me up, and before anyone could stop it, the demon raced off.

Wind blasted my face, and the sounds of tree branches been ripped apart burned my ears; pieces of wood smacked my skin. I did my best to protect my face with my arms as I was pelted by branches.

The beast kept running until we came to a clearing, far away from the homely farm. It finally stopped as I shivered in its hand, and to my surprise, set me on my feet.

Immediately I backed away so fast I tripped over myself. I kept backing, heart hammering, still facing the beast.

Thunk! With a shudder, I realized I had hit the trunk of a tree. My feet wouldn't support me, though I tried to stand.

"G - Galian Beast," my dry lips muttered. The purple behemoth, now on all fours, seemed to purr in approval. Purr? I thought it was a dog.

The thing kept getting closer, slowly but surely. The claws dug into the earth, leaving huge wounds, and I shuddered. My nerves had me opening my mouth to jabber uselessly.

"Please, please don't let me be on the menu..." The being was at my feet, sniffing. It leaned towards my calf... did it whine? "I promise I don't taste good, I swear..." My words ceased when it licked my leg. Revolted, I tried moving it, but pain raced up my body and I screamed.

Only then did I notice the blood streaming down my calf. The pain hit me harder, and it was agonizing. A piece of a tree was embedded there, from where Galian had torn through the forest, sending debris flying everywhere. Gasping I clutched my knee near the wound. Galian seemed to glance up at me, as I tried backing towards the side, but it came closer. My heart was so loud it was as if it had traded places with my brain, beating right by my ears.

Imagine my surprise when, at that moment, the enormous beast gently removed my hands from my leg. Deftly, Galian pulled the wood out, as I cried in agony, my vision darkening.

The creature leaned closer to my leg. "What...?"

It bit me. Galian, as a dog like demon, had much bigger jaws than Chaos; its maw swallowed my calf, biting around it, and the excruciating pain had me shrilling. For a few weak moments I tried swatting it, hitting at its eyes, but I was dizzy and weak and missed each time. Blackness swallowed me soon after, and I escaped the pain for a while.

I drifted in and out, feeling Galian let go, and curl nearby me. The fluffy beast was purring again. _Purring? How? It's not a cat..._ I thought again. My blurring vision failed and I feel to sleep.

-=-=-=-

How much time had passed, I wasn't sure. When I woke, groggy and sore, Galian Beast was gone, and a warm body was snug next to me, an arm around my waist. We weren't alone either.

"Out cold. Don't think we're gonna be able to move em." That was Cid's voice; he seemed os far off.

"He seems all right, and she's not hurt." _ I'm not? My leg is healed? Huh..._

"Man... all this trouble coulda been avoided. Vince just needs ta get laid!"

I wanted to shout at Cid for his stupid insinuation, but I was exhausted, and sleep stole me again.

-=-=-=-=-

_Hello?_

_... Heeelloo?_

Who's... who's that?

_Hehe. Who do you think?_

It's you.

_Yup. Are you all right?_

... I guess. I'm... confused.

_I don't blame you. A lot of things have changed. But I promise it will make sense. It's all for a reason._

Sure... I still think I'm gonna wake up at home and this'll all have been a dream. It's too crazy to be real.

_Hmm, maybe you're right._

... why am I here?

_You'll find out soon. I promise._

-=-=-=-

Bright light burned my eyes, and I winced. "Uh..."

"Good morning." Slowly, my eyes opened. A small camp was set up nearby, with Tifa and Cid asleep on blankets. Cloud was sitting up, smiling at me.

"Mornin'." I whispered, not wanting to wake the man lying whose head was on my shoulder. Vincent looked more peaceful than I'd ever seen him; there might've even been some color in his cheeks. Galian had wasted all his energy, and he was enjoying some heavy sleep.

"What happened?" The blond wondered. I quietly explained Galian's appearance and short rampage through the woods. Cloud's frown got deeper as I spoke. "Something's wrong." With a sigh, I looked down at Vincent, and knew Cloud was right. Something had changed.

What had changed? Why was Vincent's control over his demons waning? There had to be something new that occurred, a new variable... Well, I supposed that could be me. But how did I fit in? For a few minutes, I meditated on Vincent and all I knew of him.

Found in the Mansion's basement, a great ally throughout the game... reappears to help Cloud in the forest during the movie... and then...

"Hey, Cloud?" I asked softly. He looked back up. "Have you ever heard of something called 'Deepground'?" The perplexed look on his face gave me my answer.

Vincent's game; his part of the series had yet to happen. I must've appeared in their world during the year gap between Advent Children and Dirge of Cerberus.

That was the answer then. The reason, the whole purpose of this crazy planetary mix up. my thoughts sped, making connections and assumptions.

Vincent's game, as I had been told many times, was _bad_. Bad gameplay, hardly any story, not even holding a candle to the original game. But I had to keep things in perspective.

In my world, in the story, Cid married Shera. Was that because it would have been controversial to make him gay, and with the main character no less? Inconsistencies; things Square Enix couldn't cover, things that weren't important to the story, that had to be cut for time. Surely the true story and the game, much like a book based off real life, could not cover everything. Not all the details matched.

Perhaps Vincent's real story went differently than the Dirge of Cerberus game did; maybe it was deeper, darker, more serious than the failed sequel. Was that why I had been brought here, to be with Vincent during this trial?

Heavy thoughts pulled me back into slumber, though it was much less peaceful than the last.

-=-=-=-

THe next time I woke up, I was still being held. Wide awake, I remained still as someone hoisted me into the pick up, then got in beside me.

"Awake?" Blinking, I slowly sat up, still sleepy. I leaned against Vincent's shoulder as Cid started the truck.

"Mhhmm. Been thinking."

A chuckle. "While you slept?"

"I think I was brought here for you." Total silence. "I don't know what for, but its the only reason that makes sense." Now I could feel the car moving as my eyes slipped shut. We shook as the vehicle moved across bumpy terrain, before smoothing out as it went on the road.

"I will admit that some things have changed, for me, since your arrival." The deep voice answered.

"Thought so." Up front, Tifa nad Cid were also talking, much louder than we were. turning my head, I whispered towards his collar bone. "Sounds like a good enough reason to me." I knew he was confused, and I decided to leave him that way.

I slipped in and out of sleep, but before I truly lost consciousness, I whispered towards Vincent's chest another time.

"Galian... thanks."

-=-=-=-

Was I right?

_You figured it out. _

So, ... what now?

_Stick around. Vincent will need your help soon enough._

I just don't see how I can be of help to anybody.

_Hehe! Now you sound like someone I use to know._

Hey, I don't mean... I just can't see how I can help Vincent Valentine. He can handle anything.

_Can he?_

_..._

_Just wait, and watch. I promise. You're the one he'll need the most._


End file.
